Maturity?
by LizzyBird
Summary: Amu thinks she's too immature for Ikuto. When he's not a pervert he actually acts like an adult! Will she be able to change for him? Or will she not have to...? Sorry, I suck at summaries! Amuto, slight MikixYoru, possible future pairings might occur!
1. Chapter 1

**LizzyBird-Hey everybody! Welcome to my first ever Shugo Chara fanfic! I'M SO EXCITED!!**

**Amu-Yeah, well…**

**Ikuto-Is it really gonna be that great?**

**LizzyBird-IKUTO!! *glomps Ikuto***

**Ikuto-*sweat drops* Uhh… Hi to you too?**

**LizzyBird-*snuggles into his chest* You really came!! *squeals***

**Amu-*vein bulges in forehead* Hey, don't you think that's a little… much?**

**Ikuto-Aww, is my little Amu maybe… jealous? *smirks***

**Amu-*blushes* No way!**

**LizzyBird-But now I am… =[**

**Ikuto-*huggles LizzyBird and Amu at the same time* There! Are we all happy now?**

**LizzyBird & Amu-Close enough!**

**LizzyBird-Yoru! Do the honors please!**

**Yoru-Sure! Lizzy-chan does not own Shugo Chara or any of it's characters~nya!**

**LizzyBird-But that would be completely cool and awesome… On with the story!**

* * *

Amu Hinamori was sound asleep one morning. Peaceful as ever.

Until an obnoxious little alarm clock named Ran started chanting her awake.

"Amu-chan, Amu-chan! Get up get up get UP!!" Ran yelled with a perky smile on her face.

Too bad she doesn't have a snooze button.

"Aww, c'mon Ran, it's a Saturday! Let me sleep in…" Amu said, rolling over, ready to go back to sleep again.

"No way, Amu-chan! We're going for an early morning jog!" Ran cheered.

"Nuh-uh! Nada! Nope! Not happening! It's too early! 7:30 is sleepy time on the weekends!" Amu exclaimed. Like she was gonna _jog_ this early…

"Chara Change!"

Oh no.

Guess she is.

Amu bolted up right out of her bed. "Ready to go!" She exclaimed perkily.

She ran around the room, changing quickly and then bolting down the stairs. She wore a cute pink tank top with red hearts all over, matching perfectly with her pink hair and red heart clip, and black shorts to match with her black Airwalks (with pink hearts on the sides)*****. She ran right through the door and outside to start a run around the block, Ran floating right beside her.

"RAN!" Amu screamed. "Why? How could you!?"

"Simple," Ran stated. "I said the words 'Chara Change'!".

"Ran!"

* * *

_**Meanwhile…**_

Up in Amu's room, Miki and Suu slowly popped up from their eggs.

"What… was that all about?" Miki asked, still waking up.

"Hm… seems like Ran wanted to run with Amu-chan again~desu." Suu replied.

"Oh. Well then, as long as they're gone, I can keep sleeping…" said Miki, closing up her egg shell. She rolled her egg over to be next to Dia, who was too oblivious to wake up to the commotion.

"*sigh*, I guess I will clean up Amu-chan's mess from earlier~desu…" Suu said happily, going off to pick up the messy, crumpled up clothes strewn about the floor.

* * *

About an hour later, Amu returned home panting heavily. She walked right up the steps and into her room. She flopped down onto her bed, Ran exiting the Chara Change.

"Ugh… I'm ex_haus_ted Ran… why would you do this to me?" Amu sighed out in a whine.

"Because you needed the exercise!" Ran yelled.

"Are you calling me fat!?" Amu shot up, ticked.

"No, no, Amu-chan!" Ran exclaimed, backing up with her eyes bugged out and her hands waving in front of her face. "I didn't mean it like that!"

While Amu was listening to this, she looked around her room, expecting to see a mess. Despite this morning, it was surprisingly clean. "Hey Suu," Amu called out. "Did you clean my room while we were gone?"

Suu popped out from under the bed, right behind Amu's feet. "Hai, desu! I wanted to surprise you when you got back~desu!"

Amu screamed-Suu had scared her to death! She had no idea that she was under the bed. "Suu! Don't scare me like that!"

"Well, am I allowed to?" she heard a voice say.

A familiar, husky male voice. Right next to her left ear. She felt the warm air caress her ear as he talked.

She screamed again, and spun around angrily to face the voice. "**Ikuto!**"

He smirked. "Yes?" he replied, trying to sound innocent.

"What are you doing in my room!?" Amu yelled.

"Aww, can't a guy visit his favorite little strawberry?" Ikuto asked, still smirking.

_God, I hate that smirk so much,_ Amu thought. "No! Especially not a big, cat-eared pervert like **you**! And for the record, I am not _your_ little strawberry. I am my own!"

Now, _this_ kind of commotion was enough to wake Dia and Miki. They popped up out of their eggs as the two kept bickering.

"Oi, what is it _now_?" Miki asked Dia groggily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Well, considering that it even woke _me_ up…" Dia replied, "Ikuto-kun must be visiting again."

"Oh. I guess so. Hey, wait, if Ikuto's here… then where's Yoru?"

"Right here~nya!"

Yoru popped out of nowhere and took the top of Miki's egg, closing her inside.

"Aah!" Miki yelled from inside her egg. "Yoru!"

Amu and Ikuto stopped bickering for a second and watched the scene. They started to laugh together-their chara's were always so funny to watch when they were together. Amu then caught herself-losing her character in front of Ikuto? And _laughing_ with him? Oh** no**. That is definitely not okay.

Ikuto looked over at her-why the sudden stop of laughter? He chuckled once he saw her blank face, staring off into nothingness. He snuck up behind her and put his lips right up next to her ear.

"Thinking about me again, _Amu_?" he said, stretching out her name.

She snapped back to reality, her face turning a tomato red. "No way! Why would I be thinking about _you_? And don't call me so familiarly!" she ranted.

All the charas stopped what they were doing to watch the two again.

"Aww, my little _Amu_ is denying me again. So sad. Even though she dressed up all cute for me…" he said, feigning sadness, but ending with a smirk.

"Huh? What are you talk,ing******… about…" her voice trailed off as she slowly looked down at herself, realizing that she was still wearing her tiny, heart covered outfit. "Ahh!! Ikuto! Leave! I have to change!"

"Need any help with that?" Smirk.

"No way! Pervert!" Blush.

"Amu-chan…" Dia floated up to them. "You really need to learn to be nicer to Ikuto-kun."

This caused Ikuto to smirk again. For what, the fifth time already? "Thank you!" he said to the little yellow chara. "See? She gets me. _And_ she has manners, unlike _someone_ I know…" He said, turning to Amu.

"Ugh! See Dia, _this_ is exactly why I'm not nice to him!"

Dia only smiled. "Chara Change!"

"Eh?" was all Amu could say.

A diamond clip appeared in her hair. She was surrounded by a yellow, sparkly aura. Everyone one in the room, who were confused at first, instantly became calm and pleasant.

"I'm sorry, Ikuto. Forgive me for being rude to you." Amu said sweetly. Who knew Dia was so polite?

Ikuto could only stare at first. Then he decided to respond. "Well, as long as we're acting like adults her…: he bent his right arm, folded it across his stomach, and bowed formally. "Then I apologize for intruding so early in the morning. I shall take my leave now." he straightened up and started to walk towards the balcony door. "Let's go Yoru." "Coming~nya!" Yoru floated over.

At this, Amu snapped out of the Chara Change. _Ikuto's… being polite?_

"Besides, I know how much you prefer it when I come at night, when you're all tired out for me." She swore she could _hear_ that smirk.

"Ikuto, you pervert! Jeez, and I thought you were actually being _polite_ for once."

"Guess that's too bad for you then, huh?" Cat ears popped up on his head and a tail waved behind him. He opened up the balcony door and stepped out.

"Wait!" Amu exclaimed, stopping him and causing him to look back. "You're really leaving?"

His eyes widened slightly. Did he sense disappointment in her voice?

"Well, yeah, that's what you wanted right? Besides, if you're going to change, I don't want to invade your privacy if you really don't want me to be here. So… bye for now."

Amu had a small pink blush stained on her face. He's being so… _considerate_ today. It was so much more mature than his usual, perverted self. Was it because Dia made _her_ look more mature?

"Oh, okay then… thank you…" the pinkette replied.

"Yup." was all Ikuto replied before jumping off the balcony into the streets.

Amu sighed. She could never understand him.

She started to get changed for the day. With the help of Miki and the encouragement of the other three charas, she decided on a soft pink halter top with slight frills around the edges, and a pair of soft yellow shorts. On her feet she wore white Airwalks with pink designs, bases and laces. She tied up her hair in a side ponytail with a light yellow scrunchie.

"Amu-chan, you look adorable~desu!" Suu said. "What's the occasion?"

"Hm…" Amu said. "I'm not really sure. Oh well, I think I'm gonna go wander the streets today, maybe even go to the mall!"

"Sounds fun!" Ran exclaimed, "I can't wait!"

"Actually…" Amu started, "I was thinking about just taking Miki and Dia with me this time… gomen!"

"What?" All of the chara's asked, Miki and Dia perking up, Suu's eyes growing wide and dropping her duster*******. Ran slouched in disappointment. "Why, Amu-chan? Do you not need me and Suu anymore?" she asked sadly, eyes watering.

Amu's heart just about broke right then and there. She'd never seen Ran so sad before! "No, of course not Ran! That's not it at all! I just…" she couldn't tell her _why_, that would just make her even _more_ upset! "I was hoping that next time it would just be you two and me! And today it's just their turn!" She said, hoping she'd buy it.

Ran was still a little disappointed, but she accepted the answer as legitimate. "Okay, Amu-chan. Then I guess me and Suu can play today!"

"Hai! You and I can do whatever we want~desu!" Suu commented with better grammar than Ran. **[A/N: lol! Had to point that out XD]**

"Yup! Just don't get into too much trouble, okay guys?" Amu said.

"Hai!"~desu!" Ran and Suu said together.

"Great!" Amu said, "Then we're off! Let's go, Miki, Dia."

"'Kay," Miki said, floating over to Amu.

Dia went up to the other two charas. "I hope you two don't have any feelings against Amu-chan for this!" she said sweetly.

"No way! We're totally fine!" Ran stated happily. Suu only smiled and nodded.

"Alright, then we'll be leaving. Goodbye!" With that, Dia floated over to Amu and Miki.

The three exited the room and went down the stairs, meeting her mom in the kitchen. "Why, good morning, Honey! Would you like some breakfast?" she asked with a smile.

"No thanks, Mom. I'm going out today." Amu answered in her 'cool n' spicy' tone.

Midori looked over her daughter's outfit. "Oh. No wonder you're dressed so cute today. Well then, have fun!"

Amu blushed slightly when the comment was made on the cuteness of her outfit. "'Kay. Bye Mom!" Amu left the front door, Miki and Dia floating closely behind.

"So, Amu-chan…" Miki started as they were walking down the street, "What's the _real_ reason that you only wanted Dia and I to come along with you?"

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Amu asked nervously. Was it that obvious she'd been lying?

Dia had a slightly sad, yet understanding smile on her face. "You can't hide it from us, Amu-chan, we know you too well to see that you were lying back there. What's going on?"

Amu sighed--she knew it was impossible to hide it from them. _Guess I might as well tell them now…_

* * *

**LizzyBird: Aaand… cut!**

**Ikuto: Uhh… what was that?**

**LizzyBird: Me ending the chapter, duh.**

**Ikuto: I meant the chapter.**

**Amu: Eh? I lied to Ran and Suu?! Oh noes!**

**LizzyBird: Oh relax, it's not **_**that**_** bad…**

**Ikuto: Why was I nice?**

**Amu: I thought it was a nice change!**

**Ikuto: Eh… I think being perverted is definitely more funner.**

**LizzyBird: More…**

**Amu: Funner?**

**LizzyBird: Oh noes. He's taking after me and my mother. Ahh!!!**

**Amu: Uh oh…**

**LizzyBird: And you! You said 'oh noes' too! I'm too much of an influence…**

**Amu: Arghh! Just end this already!**

**Ikuto: *picks up Amu and steals her away somewhere… possibly to rape her o.O***

**Amu: Ikuto!!**

**LizzyBird: Uhh… Yoru! You know what to do! Do it! DO THE DEW!!**

**Yoru: Please review~nya! Am I just a pawn to you…?**

**LizzyBird: Yup, pretty much!**

**Miki: Not to me… *blushes under hat***

**Yoru: Miki~nya!! *canoodles her***

**LizzyBird: Uh… what he said up there.**

* * *

**STORY EXPLANATIONS!**

***-I will have pictures up! This goes for every outfit.**

****-YES I realize that there is a comma in the middle of the word. It is supposed to be there. It was there when I wrote it on paper, it's there when I'm typing it. It just means she slightly paused in the middle of the word… you get it.**

*****-I know the duster thingy is random, but just to make it clear… You know how Suu always dusts everything she cleans? With that cute little duster of hers? Yeah. Forgot to mention she had it earlier. But she has it. =D**


	2. Chapter 2

**LizzyBird: Heyy minna!! How goes it?**

**Ikuto: Chocolate.**

**Amu: That makes no sense.**

**Ikuto: Whatever.**

**LizzyBird: Okay! So, today is the grand opening of the SECOND CHAPTER!! WOOHOO!!**

**Ikuto: *smirks* And you are what, now?**

**LizzyBird: I'M SO FRICKEN EXCITED!!**

**Amu: Her catch phrase of the month =]**

**LizzyBird: Got that right XD**

**Ikuto: She's more excited that I'm coming back though, right?**

**LizzyBird: YES!! I'm so happy! Ikuto's coming back to Shugo Chara Party in like, two weeks I'll watch that episode 400 times until I have it memorized and I might even put it on my iPod and watch it during school since I'm such a bad girl and I love Ikuto so much and-**

**Amu: WE GET THE POINT!! SHUT UP CRAZY LADY!!**

**Ikuto: Amu, watch your language!**

**Amu: What??**

**LizzyBird: Huh… I think we're all… a little misplaced in the head today… Carry on with reading my story!**

**Ikuto: You do it this time, Strawberry.**

**Amu: Mmkay… LizzyBird does not own Shugo Chara! Or any of it's characters… She also does not own Hot Topic, Zumiez, or Spencers…**

**LizzyBird: Although that would be cool XD**

**Amu: Hey, wait! You can't call me Strawberry!**

**Ikuto and LizzyBird: Woww, delayed reaction much?**

**Amu: Ugh!**

------------------

_Recap_

_"So, Amu-chan…" Miki started as they were walking down the street, "What's the real reason that you only wanted Dia and I to come along with you?"_

_"Eh? What are you talking about?" Amu asked nervously. Was it that obvious she'd been lying?_

_Dia had a slightly sad, yet understanding smile on her face. "You can't hide it from us, Amu-chan, we know you too well to see that you were lying back there. What's going on?"_

_Amu sighed--she knew it was impossible to hide it from them. _Guess I might as well tell them now…

_

* * *

_

"Well, you see…" Amu started, still hesitating to tell them.

"Yes?" Miki and Dia chorused.

"It's just that… you guys are so much more _mature _than them. And I don't want to be seen as too immature in public. Plus, I do want to do some clothes shopping, and you guys would have a much more mature sense of style Ran's 'happy-pink-heart-ness' and Suu's 'doll' look." Amu finally let out. She sounded so ashamed of herself!

"So wait, this is all about _maturity_?" Miki asked, confused.

Dia understood though. "She wants to seem more grown up, and less like a child to everyone. She wants to be treated like how Ikuto-kun treated her this morning-while chara-changed with me-more often. It feels nice, right Amu-chan?" Dia answered Miki.

Amu smiled sheepishly at the two. "Yeah… sorry you guys, for having you be specially taken out. And I feel _terrible_ for leaving out Ran and Suu, but you know how childish they can be…"

"Don't worry about it, Amu-chan!" Dia said.

"Yeah," Miki added, "We're on your side, no matter what!"

"Arigatou! Let's go shopping!" Amu said with a smile, feeling uplifted.

* * *

They arrived at the new mall that had just opened a couple months ago. It was packed with people on the second floor, so Amu, Miki, and Dia stayed down on the first floor. They were wandering around. This was Amu's first time at the mall, so when she found a map, she was shocked. The floor she was on consisted of many Japanese, French, and Swedish stores, and the second floor was all American and Swedish stores. A note on the side of the map said that there would be a Spanish wing opening in a few more months.

"Wow, this mall is very… culturally diverse." Amu said.

"Let's check out some of the French stores!" Miki said. "I hear France is very fashionable."

"Okay!" Amu agreed. The three wandered over to the French side of the floor. They looked through windows, seeing many extravagant dresses and tops. The three were impressed with how beautiful everything was, yet Amu wasn't completely satisfied.

"I know they're all _gorgeous_, but… I think they're too elegant, less 'cool'. You know?" she asked her two accompanying charas.

Miki nodded in agreement, yet Dia only smiled sadly. "Amu-chan…" she started. "You can't just have a completely 'cool' wardrobe. You must have _some_ feminine attire for adult things, like dancing, dinner parties, and-"

"Sex…" they heard a voice say.

"AHH!!: Amu screamed. Miki merely went white with bugged eyes. Dia frowned, unamused.

"Ikuto-kun…" she started. "Not that adult."

But she only got a smirk.

Ikuto stood behind the three, carrying two shopping bags in his left hand, his right hand on his hip. "Why are you in the _France_ section of the mall? Do you even know French? Shouldn't you be in the Japanese section? And I thought you didn't go to the mall?" Amu's face burned more and more with every question. But then he just _had_ to hit a touchy subject. "Why are you even looking at such _adult_ clothes? Shouldn't you be in the _kiddie_ stores?" he asked, still smirking.

Amu froze at the last two questions, her blush starting to fade, reaching only a soft pink.

_I'm… only a kid?_

Ikuto, getting no reply, watched her face revert almost all the way back to it's normal color, and her eyes turn glassy. "Oi," he asked, walking up to her. He got up a few feet away from her face, looking into her eyes. "You still in there?"

He was suddenly shocked by her new expression. Her cheeks started to redden again, and her eyes started to water a bit.

_I… he… he still thinks of me as a kid?_

"Amu…?" Ikuto asked, clearly confused. _**Did I do or say something wrong to upset her?**_

Amu suddenly looked down slightly, her bangs covering her eyes, a shadow casting over her face. Only her lips and chin were visible. "Baka…" she murmured, before spinning around and running away, creating a trail of fresh tears to fall behind her.

Ikuto stood there, dumbfounded. _**What just happened…?**_

Amu just kept running around the mall, not caring who saw her or where she went. She just ran.

_How could he be so stupid!? I'll show him that I'm not a kid anymore! No, wait… a _child_… I have to improve my grammar too… I mean, as well…_ Amu thought as she ran. _Hey… where am I anyways…?_

She stopped running and looked around, confused. Apparently she had ran all the way up the stairs, to the complete opposite side of the mall, and ended up in the American section.

_What the…?_ She though. _Oh well… good thing I take 3 languages at school. Now I can shop._

She wandered around, seeing many cool stores: Spencers, Zumiez, Hot Topic- just her style! She walked into Spencers, and seeing a cool choker, immediately went straight for it. It was a cross choker, kind of like Ikuto's, but with red stones in it. "Perfect," Amu said, and picked it up. She also saw gray knee socks with many crosses along the side and a red criss-cross pattern in the backdrop, that kind of matched the choker, so she picked them up too. She then went to the cashier to pay. In total, it was about $23*.

Miki and Dia said nothing. They only floated behind her in curiosity and slight concern. But the same thing popped into both of their minds. _What happened to dropping to 'cool' act and becoming mature? Now she's just turning into Ikuto…_

She walked out of Spencers and straight into Hot Topic. _Good thing I brought a lot of money with me, this place is _packed_ with awesome stuff!_

She ended up buying a grand total of 15 items from Hot Topic-

A metallic blue and purple studded belt

A blue plaid pyramid stud belt

A blue glitter pyramid belt

Turquoise liquid eye shadow

Orange wingtip eyeliner

A red eye shadow palette

Red and black layered nail polish

A stainless steel heart ring

Peacock feather earrings

A red and black cross choker

A cross slave bracelet

A cross rose and pearl necklace

A crown skull cross and heart necklace

And a skull key necklace.

Wanna know how much it all cost?

A whopping $170.

And she was still ready to shop.

Miki was happy with all the blue stuff she got, and Dia equally happy with the warm-colored things. But they couldn't help but notice. _They were all either cool or had something to do with Ikuto. _Except for the peacock feathers. They stuck out for some reason.

"Ne, Miki," Dia whispered. "Do you think she's doing it on purpose? Or subconsciously?"

"I don't know," Miki stated, "But it's starting to scare me." Dia nodded. "We should help."

Amu had run into Zumiez by now. She normally didn't spend this much, but this mall was awesome! In Zumiez, she got a black, white, and blue plaid hoodie for $30. Before she could spot anything else, Miki and Dia floated in front of her face.

"Now, Amu-chan," Dia started. "What did you say we came here to do?"

"Buy more mature clothes, duh. Why?" Amu asked.

Miki and Dia sighed. Amu got confused.

"I thought 'cool' wasn't mature, Amu-chan." Miki said. Dia nodded.

"Yeah, it's immature, I know that." Amu said.

"So then why have you just bought $223 worth of 'cool' stuff?" Miki and Dia asked in unison.

Amu's eyes widened and she dropped the bags to the floor. "Shit."

Her two charas gasped. "Amu-chan!"

"You shouldn't swear like that, Amu-chan!" Miki yelled.

"It's very unbecoming for a mature young lady!" Dia exclaimed.

Amu just stood there, in a daze. They were right. Swearing, buying cool stuff. It's not making her any more mature. _There has to be a way to change me… this definitely isn't it. I have to focus from now on._

"I got it, guys. Thanks. I'll focus and try harder from now on." Amu replied to them.

Miki and Dia smiled with relief. _Good, she's back on track._

The three sought off to find a mature, more sophisticated store to shop in. Twice, Amu thought she saw Ikuto walk by, but when she checked, no Ikuto. But little did she know he was tailing her.

* * *

As Amu trailed after Miki and Dia, Ikuto stared in wonder. He had followed after her, since she'd run away crying. He just wanted to make sure she was okay. But when he saw her coming out of Zumiez, getting yelled at by her charas, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on. So the harmless following turned into slightly creepy stalking. And upon stalking her, he became confused at her actions.

Did she really just go from shopping at the three coolest stores to _Banana Republic_?

_**Something is **_**seriously**_** wrong with this girl.**_ Ikuto thought.

* * *

**LizzyBird: Woo! Chapter done! Sorry it was kinda short, I just wanted to get this one out of the way to set up for the next chapter. Trust me, it'll be much better than-**

**Ikuto: This piece of crap.**

**LizzyBird: Hey… that's not nice Ikuto… but regardless, I still love you **

**Amu: Ugh. I don't even see why you started loving him in the first place. He's mean, rude, arrogant…**

**Ikuto: *whispers* sexy…**

**Amu: Sexy… Hey, wait!!**

**LizzyBird: *falling over, laughing hysterically* not to mention sneaky XD**

**Ikuto: Got that right =]**

**LizzyBird: Anyways... So Ikuto's a stalker now. How do you feel about that? Amu? Ikuto?**

**Amu and Ikuto: Eh. It's nothing new, honestly.**

**LizzyBird: ... Creepy... Anywho... Gotta keep my theme for stuff going… Suu! You do it! DO THE FREAKING DEW!!**

**Suu: Hai, desu! Please review~desu!**

**Ikuto: Ohh, I get it now, she's using-**

**LizzyBird: SHUSH!! Let them figure it out themselves!**

* * *

**STORY EXPLANATIONS!!**

***I AM writing this in American currency, since she is in the American section of the mall, in American stores, so therefore-American currency. On my pictures on my profile, there are little boxes that show how much it is in Yen too, so if you really must know how much it is in Yen, you may look there =]**

* * *

**KEY FOR THOUGHTS!**

**Yes, I am making a key for this! Just to clear any possible confusion:**

_Amu's thoughts_

_Chara's thoughts (all)_

_**Ikuto's thoughts**_


	3. Chapter 3

**LizzyBird: WHAT IS GOOD, YA'LL!**

**Ikuto: STRAWBERRIES!**

**Amu: Uh… chocolate?**

**Ikuto: Um, wasn't that my answer last time? You copy cat!**

**LizzyBird: Aww, Ikuto, I like chocolate too… *wink wink hint hint nudge nudge lol***

**Ikuto: If chocolate means me, then thank you! And thank you too, Amu!**

**Amu: What!**

**LizzyBird: Come on, Amu, you know that's what you meant. It's what I meant. *looks at Ikuto adoringly***

**Amu: I… b-but… oh, whatever. There's no point in arguing with you people.**

**Ikuto: WE WIN!**

**LizzyBird: Soo… how goes it, readers? I'm currently loving this chapter I just wrote for you!**

**Amu: But I bet you that I'll hate it.**

**LizzyBird&Ikuto: But why? You haven't even read it yet.**

**Amu: Well, there's like a 98% chance Ikuto's gonna be in it too, right?**

**LizzyBird: No, of course not.**

**Amu: *surprised* oh. Well then.**

**LizzyBird: It's a 100% chance.**

**Amu: *sighh* Can we just get this over with?**

**LizzyBird: Kayy, can someone do the disclaimer?**

**Pepe: *suddenly appears* I'll do it-dechu!**

**Ikuto: Where'd you come from?**

**Pepe: Does it matter-dechu?**

**Ikuto: … Not really.**

**Pepe: Kay! LizzyBird does not own Shugo Chara! or any of it's characters-dechu!**

**Amu: She also does not own the stores Banana Republic or Old Navy.**

**LizzyBird: Read on!**

* * *

_Recap_

_As Amu trailed after Miki and Dia, Ikuto stared in wonder. He had followed after her, since she'd run away crying. He just wanted to make sure she was okay. But when he saw her coming out of Zumiez, getting yelled at by her charas, he couldn't help but wonder what was going on. So the harmless following turned into slightly creepy stalking. And upon stalking her, he became confused at her actions._

_Did she really just go from shopping at the three coolest stores to _Banana Republic_?_

**Something is **_**seriously **_**wrong with this girl**_**,**_ _Ikuto thought._

* * *

Amu walked into the store a little wary. "You guys… I don't know about this. Everything is so… fancy. I wouldn't know where to begin!"

"No worries, Amu-chan!" Miki exclaimed. "We'll pick out clothes for you!"

"Yes, Amu-chan. Just wander around, and we'll tell you what's good." Dia said. "Leave it to us!"

"Well… okay, but I'll still choose between what you guys pick." Amu said.

She ended up getting three blue-based shirts Miki picked out and two warm colored shirts Dia chose for about $340.

"These are all great, but… I'm still only getting shirts." Amu told her charas.

"Hm… I know!" Dia exclaimed. "Let's go to Old Navy and get you some dresses!"

"Yeah!" Miki said. "Dresses are always pretty!"

"Uhm, I guess so." said Amu.

They exited the store, unaware of the two blue-haired stalkers following them.

* * *

"Ne, Ikuto~nya… Why are we still following them~nya? Why don't you just walk with them, or let us talk to them~nya?" Yoru asked.

"I'm not sure what, Yoru, but something's up with Amu, and I'm gonna find out what it is."

"So go up and _ask_~nya."

"What, are you crazy?" Ikuto asked. "Why would I do that?"

* * *

Amu, Miki, and Dia made their way over to the Mini (mall exclusive) Old Navy. Many choice dresses popped up as soon as they walked it. "Awesome! This is going to be easy." Amu said.

They went over to the dress section and chose three strapless, one halter, and one spaghetti strapped dress. Miki also found a cute striped dressy-kind of shirt, Dia found some adorable tan and white sandals, and Amu found a pair of cool sunglasses.

"Best shopping day ever!" All three girls said.

* * *

They all left the mall-Amu, Miki, Dia, Yoru, and Ikuto. Amu was struggling to walk down the street with five filled shopping bags. Ikuto, wanting to help and get on her good side, finally revealed himself to her. "Oi, Amu! You need help with that?" he asked. Amu whipped her head around and glared at him. "I most certainly do not!" she yelled, angry that he had the nerve to talk to her after making her cry. Not that he had even the slightest idea why… but still!

"Amu," Ikuto said calmly. " I'm sorry for making you cry earlier, but I'm not even sure what I did. I just want to help you, no reason to snap at me."

"I-!" Amu started angrily, then stopped. _He's being very mature about this… and I'm really not. _"Dia? Could you…?" Amu asked. "Sure, Amu-chan." Dia said knowingly.

_Pop!_

"Ikuto-kun,"

Ikuto looked up at the chara-changed Amu.

"I know that when you made me cry, it was unintentional. It's okay."

"Are you okay now?" Ikuto asked.

Amu/Dia nodded. "I'm just fine, thank you."

"Do you want help now?" he asked cautiously.

"That would me nice." Amu/Dia said with a smile.

She gave him the Hot Topic, Zumiez, and Spencers bags while trying to conceal the other two from him.

_Pop!_

"Uh, uhm… Ikuto, you know you don't really have to do this…" Amu said, suddenly embarrassed.

Ikuto looked down at her strangely. "Yeah, but why wouldn't I _want _to? It's the mature and polite thing to do. Besides, just this morning you implied you liked that side of me."

"…So basically you're just being a kiss-up." Amu said.

Ikuto smirked. "Kinda."

Amu sighed. "Oh well. At least I'm getting free labor out of you for this."

"You sure this is all you need my free labor for?" _**Wait for it…**_

"AHH! Pervert!" Amu screamed, dropping her Old Navy bag, causing her sunglasses to fall out.

Ikuto picked up the sunglasses and put them on. "Hey Yoru, how do I look?"

Yoru took one look at him and burst into laughter. "Nya ha ha! You look like a girl~nya!"

Amu stopped glaring for a second to actually look at Ikuto's face. Her face turned red and her mouth was doing something… odd.

Ikuto-completely serious-turned to her. "What?" _**What's wrong with her face? She's not going to cry again, is she?**_

"AH HA HA HA HA!" Amu yelled, laughing hysterically. "You know those are GIRL sunglasses, right? Yeah, the GLITTER on the sides really bring out your eyes!" She said, still laughing.

Miki was laughing just as hard as Yoru and Amu, and even Dia had a hand covering her mouth, trying not to laugh too loud. It was all just one big Chuckle Storm on the side of the road!

Ikuto watched Amu with a smile. He took off the sunglasses and then put them on her face. She instantly stopped laughing. "There," he said. "They look much better on you."

She blushed and smiled. "Uhm… thanks."

He picked up the bag she dropped and handed it back to her. Amu, surprised he didn't even look inside, took it. She took off her sunglasses and dropped them in the bag.

Yoru floated over to Miki when she wasn't looking. He snuck up behind her, then jumped over her head and pulled her hat down over her eyes.

"Ah!" Miki yelled. "Yoru! That's not fair!"

He just laughed while Miki adjusted her hat. "Nya ha ha-ouch!" Miki pulled on Yoru's tail.

"Ha! that's what you get, punk!" Miki yelled.

Dia simply smiled and shook her head. _Ah_, she thought. _Young love…_

Amu turned to look at the two charas and smiled. "They're so cute together, aren't they?"

Ikuto glanced back at them for a second, then looked at Amu. "I guess so."

Amu turned to Ikuto. "You 'think so'? Don't you believe in love at all?"

Ikuto looked away. "How do you know it's love? They could just be friends who happen to fight a lot and tease each other all the time." _Kind of like we do,_ he thought.

"That's exactly how I know it's love!"

He looked back to her. "What?"

Amu looked forward and smiled. "Well, when Yoru teases Miki, he does it to get her attention. Sure, sometimes he teases other charas too, usually mine, but with Miki it's different. Plus, the other charas chase after him to attack him. Miki chases him so she can tease him back. She's smart, so I think she knows that when she teases him, he's bound to tease her back again. Besides, look at them now."

They both turned around, only to see the two charas floating next to each other with big smiles, laughing and putting their arms around each others' shoulders.

"See? They're just good friends." Ikuto said.

"No," Amu said. "look closer."

Miki and Yoru had stopped laughing now and were smiling and looking into each others' eyes while blushing.

"See? They're the perfect couple!" Amu said dreamily.

"We got the first half down, when are we gonna reach the second stage?" Ikuto asked quietly, kind of to Amu but mostly to himself.

She turned to him, still smiling, oblivious to what he just asked. "What was that?"

"Nothing… here, we're at your house." Ikuto said. "I'll go up your balcony and drop your bags off in your room. See you tomorrow, I guess."

"Wait!" Amu said. "Stay in my room when you get up there!"

"Why?" Ikuto asked, surprised.

"Uhm… you'll see." Amu said, slightly blushing.

* * *

**LizzyBird: Woo! And that is the End of Chapter 3!**

**Ikuto: Wow, I seem so… OOC in this. Why am I so nice? Where's my perverted glory moment?**

**LizzyBird: Hey, I gave you one pervertedness moment!**

**Amu: Pervertedness is not a word.**

**LizzyBird: A-HEMM!**

**Amu: *sigh* Pervertedness is not a word… Princess LizzyBird.**

**LizzyBird: Thank you! And well, it is now! At least in my Word dictionary it is, haha =D Thank you, Add to Dictionary button!**

**Ikuto: But it was only one line! And… I'm not even sure if people will understand it…**

**LizzyBird: Well, they would have figured it out by Amu's freak out. And if they didn't, they will now. Cuz they'll look back to that line and wrack their brains for a perverted term for the word 'labor'.**

**Amu: YUCK!**

**Ikuto: And another thing. Why am I so nice? I'm a teaser.**

**LizzyBird: No, you're a suck-up, not nice. Haha =D**

**Ikuto: *whispers* wait, so does Amu know I love her yet?**

**LizzyBird: She will now! HEY, AMU-!**

**Ikuto: *slaps hand over her mouth* NUU!**

**Amu: Hey, you guys, what am I gonna show Ikuto next chapter?**

**Ikuto: Ooh, will it be se-**

**LizzyBird: Well, see, first your gonna *whisper whisper whisper*, and THEN your gonna *whisper whisper* but he's gonna say *whisper. whisper?* and then you'll both *whisper whisper*. Fun, right?**

**Amu: OMG SO FUN!**

**Ikuto: What, what'd she say!**

**Amu: *whispers to Ikuto* I'm not really sure, all she said was 'whisper' a bunch of times, so I'm pretending I understood her.**

**LizzyBird: You DO realize that, since I'm typing this, I know what you're saying? You don't have to whisper behind my back.**

**Ikuto: … She's got a point.**

**LizzyBird: Well, until next chapter! Pepe, do your thing!**

**Pepe: Please review-dechu!**

**Ikuto: Get it now?**


	4. Chapter 4

**LizzyBird: Heyy peoples!**

**Amu: Peoples isn't a word…**

**LizzyBird: Then why didn't Word AutoCorrect me?**

**Amu: I don't know, cuz it's stupid?**

**Ikuto: Actually, peoples is a word, and people's is a word too.**

**Amu: … I hate you people.**

**LizzyBird: Aww, but I love you!**

**Amu: Too. Fricken. Bad.**

**LizzyBird: What's a Firkin? When I typed in fricken that's what came up in the AutoCorrect box.**

**Ikuto: Don't ask me.**

**Amu: Yeah. That's weird.**

**Nana: Howdy, ya'll!**

**Ikuto: What's SHE doing here?**

**LizzyBird: She's doing my stuff today! Hit it!**

**Nana: LizzyBird don't own Shugo Chara! or it's characters ya'll!**

**LizzyBird: Haha! See? By the way, this chapter contains a lot of MikixYoru so… cool!**

**Miki: Yes! I mean, oh. That's cool.**

**Amu: And it's really long, so it's almost like a special! Read on!**

* * *

_Recap_

"_Nothing… here, we're at your house." Ikuto said. "I'll go up your balcony and drop your bags off in your room. See you tomorrow, I guess."_

"_Wait!" Amu said. "Stay in my room when you get up there!"_

"_Why?" Ikuto asked, surprised._

"_Uhm… you'll see." Amu said, slightly blushing._

* * *

Ikuto entered Amu's room through the balcony door. He put the bags down next to her desk and sat down on her bed.

Ran and Suu were playing Chase when they looked over and say Ikuto just sitting on Amu's bed.

"Ahh! Ikuto!" Ran yelled. "What are you doing here~desu!" Suu followed. "Yeah, Amu's at the mall, so go home!" Ran finished.

Ikuto laughed with an amused look on his face. "No. I assure you she's home right now."

"Eh?" Ran and Suu said. All of a sudden the door opened.

* * *

Amu, Miki, and Dia walked through the front door. "Hi, honey! How was your trip at the mall?" They heard her mom say.

"It was fun, mom! They have a lot of cool stores! I'm gonna go put my bags upstairs, see ya!"

Amu raced up the stairs to her room. She thought she heard Ran and Suu talking to Ikuto, so she opened the door.

* * *

"Amu-chan!" Ran and Suu yelled, tackling her in a hug. "We missed you!" "Desu!"

"Haha, you guys, I missed you too! Sorry I was gone for so long." Amu said. "So what'd you guys do while we were gone?" "Well," Ran started. "Me and Suu played Chase!" "And I cleaned some more~desu!" said you-know-who.

"And then- *GASP!* -I forgot to tell you, Amu-chan!" Ran yelled. "Ikuto's here!"

Amu laughed and Ikuto made a funny smile. "Yes, Ran, I know he's here. I can see him. And I invited him here."

"What? Why~desu?" Suu asked.

"Yeah, why Amu?" Ikuto asked from the bed.

"Well… I want a boy's opinion on some things…"

Yoru popped up from behind Ikuto. "Are you gonna model for us~nya?"

Amu's face exploded into a blush as red as a fire truck. "Well, when you put it that way…"

Ikuto smiled. "Why do you need a boys opinion? And why not just ask Tadase or one of your other Guardian boyfriends?"

"Th-th-they're not my boyfriends! They're just guy friends that I may have happened to fantasize about marrying at one point."*

"What?"

"Uh… never mind. That's a long story."

"Was I in that fantasy?"

"Maybe…"

"…"

"Do you want me to model or not?"

"Sure… If you change in here." he smirked.

"Ew! No way, pervert. I'll be right back." Amu took her bags into the bathroom.

Ikuto continued to sit on her bed, thinking. _**I was in her wedding fantasy? I'll have to find out about that someday…**_

Meanwhile, Yoru was being mischievous, as always.

"Noo~desu! Give me back my duster~desu!"

"Never~nya!"

Suu was chasing Yoru around the room trying to get her feather duster back.

Miki was floating farther away, watching. _Sigh… I wonder if they like each other… they'd be good together. They both say funny things at the end of their sentences. I don't say anything cool…_

She took out her sketchpad and drew a picture of them fighting over her duster in a big heart surrounded by little hearts. She sighed again.

When she looked up from the completed picture, she saw Yoru drop the duster, leaving Suu screaming and zooming down to catch it while he stole Ran's pompoms.

"Nya, nya, sis-boom-bah!" He yelled while doing a cheesy cheer dance.

"Ahh!" Ran yelled. "You're breaking the cheerleader code! Get your own pompoms!" Hence another chase began, Yoru chanting random made-up cheers around the room.

Miki frowned. _Maybe he likes Ran, I mean, they're both so hyper and energetic, their personalities totally fit together, and pink and blue certainly go together, I mean, just look at Amu and Ikuto!_ She sighed again and flipped to a new page in her sketchpad. She drew a picture of Yoru cheering with the pompoms while Ran leapt to tackle him. It was also in a big heart with more little hearts around it.

Yoru threw the pompoms towards the balcony door. Ran screamed and flew to catch them. Yoru looked over to Miki. He saw her drawing in her sketchbook and sighed. _She's not even paying attention to me, even though I'm making all this noise~nya. I'll try Dia then~nya!_

He floated up next to Dia. He couldn't really find anything to take, so he just poked her in the arm.

_Poke._ "Hey Dia."

She turned her head to look at him, her pigtails twirling.

_Poke._ "Hey Dia."

She looked away. _I'm not playing this game_, she thought.

_Poke, poke, poke. _"Hey DIII-AAAA."

She blinked.

"DIA~NYA!"

"Yes?" she asked calmly, looking sideways at him.

"Hi~nya." he said, hoping to make her yell at him so that maybe Miki would notice. What he didn't see was that she was already in the middle of a picture of them, Dia's pigtails swirling around her, his eyes sparkling up at her, once again in a big heart, but surrounded by sparklies instead of little hearts.

"Hello yourself." She said, averting her eyes again.

_Hmm…_ Yoru thought. _This one's a tough cookie~nya. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever made-or even SEEN her-really angry before~nya… Gotta take __something__~nya… a-HA!_

He snatched her headphone-mic set and floated in front of her, dangling it before her eyes. "Whatcha gonna do, pretty pop princess~nya?"

She stared at them with big eyes. No response.

He put them on his head and started singing into the mic. "Tell me how do I play the Melody of Love~nya!"**

Ikuto perked up from his spot on the bed. _**I know that song! That's my song!****_

Dia's face suddenly changed. Her eyebrows furrowed together, and her mouth scrunched up in anger.

Yoru stopped singing and watched her face change. "Uh… Dia~nya?"

"Wrr-AHHH!" Dia yelled, her pigtails flying up and her eyes glowing red. "MY HEADPHONES! YOU HAVE RUINED THE SINGING WORLD FOREVER! YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR SINS, FOOL!" Her fingers curled like claws as she flew after Yoru.

"NOO~NYA! I'M SORRY DIA, DON'T HURT ME~NYA!"

He put the headphones back on her head and she instantly calmed down. But then she glared right into his eyes. "Don't. you. EVER. touch. my. headphones. again." She threatened. "Got it?" She said as she poked his chest.

_Eep!_ Yoru thought. "Got it~nya!"

"Good." Then Dia floated away happily.

Miki was pale-faced, completely afraid of Dia. In fact, everyone in the room was, even Ikuto, and yet Dia was acting like it never even happened.

Miki just shook it off, closed her sketchpad, and stared into space, thinking about who looked best with Yoru.

Yoru looked up at her and saw her zoning out. _Oh, do NOT tell me she just missed all of that~nya! Fine, I guess I'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way~nya!_

He floated up to Miki. "Hey, Miki~nya!" he said. She looked up. "What?" He snatched her sketchpad and started to flip through the pages. "Whatcha been drawing~nya?" _Ooh, cookies! Those look yummy~nya!__***_

Miki paled. "No! Give that back, Yoru!" _He's gonna see all the pictures I just drew!_

She chased Yoru around the room while he flipped through all the pictures, smiling at how good an artist she was and that she was finally paying attention to him. He stopped smiling when he got to one picture. _Did I see that right~nya?_ he thought, blinking. He stopped flying, causing Miki to bump into him from behind. "Come on, Yoru, give it back!"

But he couldn't answer.

Because he was looking at a picture of him and Suu. _Why in a big heart~nya?_ he thought.

Miki looked over his shoulder to see which picture he was at. _Oh, no._

He scrunched his eyebrows together, then flipped the page to see another picture, but with him and Ran instead. He frowned a little. _She doesn't think I like them, does she~nya? I mean, I tease them a lot, but it's only to get her attention~nya!_ He sighed really quietly and flipped the page.

Miki was floating a few inches away, looking down, ashamed. _I can't believe he saw those…_

He was looking at the picture of him and Dia now. _Sure,_ he thought, _that's what she looked like BEFORE I took her headphones and she went all evil on me~nya_.

"Hey, Miki~nya." He said suddenly, closing the sketchpad. She looked up at him, afraid. He wasn't even looking at her! Was he mad? "Yeah?" she asked quietly.

"Where's our picture~nya?" he asked.

"Eh?" Miki responded. _Our picture?_

He looked back at her with a small blush. "Yeah~nya. I have one with everyone else~nya. What about with you~nya?"

Miki thought it over for a second. Her face turned bright red and her eyes widened. "I, uh…"

Yoru smiled then, still blushing. "It's okay, I can wait~nya. As long as I get one~nya."

She smiled back. "Okay. I'll get right on it."

He grinned and gave her back her sketchpad. They just floated there, staring into each others' eyes for a while.

Dia and Ikuto watched the couple. _**It's about time,**_ they both thought. They looked at each other and smiled a knowing smile.

"Hey, you guys…" Ran started. Everyone turned to look to look at Ran and Suu. "What's taking Amu so long~desu?" Suu finished.

They all looked towards the door, and right on cue it opened a little and Amu stuck her head in. "Hey, guys."

"Come on, Amu, all the way in!" Dia and Ikuto said together.

"Well, okay…" She opened the door all the way and stepped in.

When she stepped in, everyone's eyes widened. Yoru's jaw dropped, Ran and Suu gasped, and Miki and Dia smiled.

Amu was wearing the black halter dress from Old Navy. She took the sunglasses off of the dress and put them on top of her head. "Well? What do you think?"

"Wow Amu-chan! You look amazing!"

"She's right, you look awesome!"

"So pretty~desu!"

"Amu looks hot~nya!"

"That's a little creepy, Yoru."

"Ahh, scary Dia~nya."

Amu smiled and blushed with every comment, and laughed at Yoru's. "Thanks, you guys." She glanced a little expectantly at Ikuto. All the charas turned to look at him too. "Hey, Ikuto~nya." He turned his head to face Yoru. "What?" "What do you think~nya?" "Yeah, Ikuto-kun. Comment." Dia said.

He turned back to Amu and scanned her up and down at least three times before saying "Well… it makes it look like you almost have a chest." He said with fake disinterest. He _really_ thought it looked great on her, and really defined her body well. It was hard to look away, but it felt like he should, so he did.

Amu's face flushed with embarrassment and anger. "Ikuto! You can't just say that! Pervert! Is that all you ever see?"

"Ooh, bad move dude." "Nya." Miki and Yoru said together.

"Oh, shut up, lovebirds." Ikuto said, sounding bored.

Miki and Yoru blushed and looked in opposite directions.

"Ugh. Whatever. This was a stupid idea. Just… go home, Ikuto." Amu said, looking at the floor. "You don't even care anyway-"

"You look nice."

"Eh?" Amu asked, looking at him. "What?"

Ikuto was staring out the window, trying to hide the smallest blush. "You make that dress look good."

Amu smiled. It was indirect, but it was still a compliment.

"Well?" she heard him ask. "Aren't you gonna show me more? Or do you still want me to leave?"

She blushed. "Be right back." She ran from her room to the bathroom.

Dia turned to Ikuto as soon as Amu left. "Why are you like that?"

"Huh?" Ikuto asked, confused. "Like what?"

"You act like you don't care, and you just tease her all the time. That's not what love is about."****

Ikuto turned to look at the other charas. They were huddled together, chatting excitedly about what Amu might come back in next. Miki and Yoru were floating side by side, linking their pinky fingers and non-stop smiling.

"Well, I'm sorry we can't be like those two."

Dia looked over to see what he was talking about. "You know, Miki and Amu are a lot alike. If you treat her more like Yoru treats Miki, you could easily be like that. I'm not saying to act like a thieving, mischievous idiot or anything, but maybe your teasing shouldn't always be so perverted."

Ikuto smirked up at Dia. "Wow. You really don't like Yoru, do you? Is that all about your headphones?"

"Don't go there. No one, and I mean NO ONE. touches MY headphones." Said Dia with a flaming aura surrounding her. Ikuto just chuckled.

"You know… when Amu asks your opinion on something, you should just answer straight forward. She's really self-conscious about how she looks. Not to mention she chose you over any other guy, you shouldn't make her feel bad."

Ikuto perked up. "Yeah, about that… why _did_ she choose me anyways?"

Dia smiled. "You're an important person to her, Ikuto-kun. Plus, since you're older, you're sure to have a more refined taste than anyone her age."

"Well, I guess so. I don't really think I'm _that_ important to her though. I'm just the creepy perv that sneaks through her balcony and teases her non-stop, remember?" he said.

"That's not true! You're one of the most important people in her life, I can just feel it in her heart. You don't realize it, but you really influence her decisions, and you're really helping her grow up into the person she wants to be."

Ikuto was about to respond when Amu walked into the room again. This time she was wearing the blue strapless dress. "Okay, what about this one?"

All the charas immediately started gushing over how good she looks. "You know Amu… blue really suits you." Dia said. Ikuto glanced up to her, knowing perfectly well that she wasn't talking about the dress.

Amu blushed. "Oh, I don't know about that…"

"Oh, it's true alright," Dia continued. "you and blue go together like strawberries and chocolate. Trust me."

Amu smiled. "Aww, thanks Dia!"

Ikuto looked away. _**Maybe she won't notice that I haven't said anything yet. Then I won't have to tell her what I really think about that dress.**_

"But that's just my opinion. What do _you_ think, Ikuto-kun?" Dia said, sounding innocent to everyone but Ikuto.

"I… you… it…" Ikuto said, not wanting to spill everything, but not wanting to tease her while Dia was right there.

"Very cool." he heard Miki say sarcastically.

He gave Miki a look. "I like it."

Amu's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah. It looks good on you. Besides, it's my favorite color."

Amu's face flushed. "Uh, uhm… thanks. I'll be right back!" At this she rushed out of the room.

"See? She was expecting teasing." Ikuto said to Dia. "Why make me take her out of her comfort zone?"

"You're exactly right. She _was_ expecting teasing." Ikuto nodded. "But you surprised her, so now she respects and trusts you just a little more." Dia finished.

Ikuto glanced away. "… Yeah. Okay."

Dia looked back at him a little worriedly. "Ikuto-kun?"

Just then the door opened again. Amu walked in wearing the bright red and pink flowery dress.

Everyone's eyes bugged out, some four charas more so than a certain pair that were just talking above. All the charas dropped their jaws, Ran and Yoru's lower than the others'. Amu blushed bright red at everyone's reaction. "AMU-CHAN!" Ran, Miki, and Suu yelled. "What?" Amu asked, embarrassed.

"You."

"Look."

"AMAZING~desu!"

"True dat~nya!" Yoru yelled.

Dia smiled and nodded. "They're right. It looks perfect on you!"

Amu snuck a side peek at Ikuto. He was just staring at her. Normally she'd find that creepy and call him a pervert, but this time it felt… special. "Well, Ikuto?" she asked quietly.

Ikuto looked up into her eyes. _**I can't say anything. Why can't I say anything? Tell her you love it. Tell her she looks great. Do it, or Dia will eat you. Must resist any teasing urges. Not that there are any, there's not anything to tease about on this one. It just looks **_**good**_**.**_

Amu was staring back into his eyes a little nervously. _What's he thinking? Man, this was a stupid idea. I feel like an idiot._

Yoru looked over at Ikuto. _Hm… I know how to liven this up~nya!_

_Pop!_

Ikuto's kitty features popped up. His ears were twitching and his tail was swaying. Amu backed up a little, startled. "Uh… Ikuto?"

He looked up like nothing happened. "Yea?"

"So… what do you think of this one?"

Ikuto's tail thumped hard against the bed and his ears perked up. "It looks fine, I guess." he said. Amu took note of his cat features, and decided to tease him a little. _Payback time!_ she thought. "Oh really?" She twirled the skirt part of the dress from side to side, swaying a little. "Just fine?" She spun in a circle and then bent slightly forward so she could look up at him. "I thought it'd look better… maybe I'll just go return it…"

All the charas started giggling. _Way to go, Amu-chan!_ they all thought. Ikuto's tail thrashed around his body. "No, you should keep it." Amu walked closer, until she was about six inches away. "Oh, really? And why is that?" Ikuto's ears twitched. _**Oh, she is so doing this on purpose. Well, two can play at that game. She's in for it now. Never mess with the master of teasing.**_

He wrapped his tail around her leg, rubbing the tip of it up and down the inside of her thigh. "Well, I think you'd look a lot better without it on, personally." Ikuto said, smirking.

Amu's face exploded into a red so bright it glowed. "EHH!"

Dia and Miki glared at him. "What!" Miki yelled. "Ikuto-kun! That's not funny!" Dia followed. Ikuto turned to look at Dia. "Who said it was a joke?"

Amu yanked her leg back, trying to free her leg, but she only succeeded in pulling Ikuto an inch closer to her. He curled his tail tighter around her leg. "Ikuto! Let go!" "No." "But Ikuto!"

While Amu fidgeted around with Ikuto and his tail, all of her charas turned to look at Yoru. He was laughing hysterically at the prank he just started. "Yoru! What are you doing!" Ran yelled. "That's so inappropriate~desu!" Suu complained. "Do you _really_ want to continue this?" Dia threatened. Yoru sweat dropped. "But it's so fun~nya!"

"Hey, Yoru…" Miki said quietly.

"Yeah, Miki? What's up~nya?"

"I really think you should stop now. Amu's trying really hard to grow up and be more mature, but when you Chara Change with Ikuto, your mischievousness kinda makes it hard for her. So please? For me? For Amu?" Miki pleaded.

Yoru just stared for a second. "… Okay. I guess so~nya."

_Pop!_

Ikuto's kitty features disappeared, causing Amu's leg to finally be free from his tail's grasp.

"Ikuto, I mean it! Be serious about this! Either that, or just leave!" Amu yelled, red faced.

Ikuto looked down, silent for a moment. "Yeah. Okay. I'm sorry."

Amu stepped back, shocked. "Wait… what?" _Did he just apologize? _

Ikuto wouldn't meet her gaze. "Just… show me the next one already."

Amu blushed. _Aww… he's trying!_ she thought. "'Kay, but no more teasing!" He nodded "Of course."

She left the room then, without another word. There was silence in the room. Ikuto continued to stare at the floor, Ran, Suu and Dia were watching Ikuto, and Miki and Yoru were looking into each others' eyes.

Yoru was a little sad. Miki looked really… _disappointed_ in him. Miki looked away from him to the ground. Yoru floated silently next to her and wrapped his tail around her waist. She looked at his tail, then up to him. His eyes were sad and pleading for forgiveness. She leaned her head against his. He gave a small smile then, and nuzzled his head against hers.

Amu came in through the door again, causing everyone to look up at her, while wearing the green dress. "Okay, so this one?"

Suu smiled. "I really like it~desu! GO GREEN~desu!"

Everyone (minus Ikuto) laughed at the green usually quiet chara's sudden outburst. The charas were telling Amu how much they liked it when Ikuto spoke up. "It looks a little plain."

Amu looked up. "Huh?" All the charas turned to look at him then. "Well, I just mean, compared to all the other ones, it just doesn't stand out as much. It still looks good," _**Most things **_**do**_** look good on you,**_ "but the other ones looked better. That's all I'm saying."

Amu stared. _Wow, he's really being serious about this now. Nice._ "Oh, okay. Well, I only have one left, so I'll be right back." She walked towards the door, stopped and turned back to look at him one last, then left. Ikuto sighed, then plopped backwards on her bed. Dia floated over his face. "Ikuto-kun. Thank you for being serious about this now." She said, smiling and sparkling. "Hn." he replied. Before anything else was said, the door slowly started to open. "That was fast," everyone heard Ran say. "When she said 'be right back' she really meant it!"

Amu slowly stepped in. "This… was one of my favorites." she said softly. "So, I hope it looks okay." Everyone stared at her outfit. She wore the blue and black flowery spaghetti strapped dress, with the sunglasses hooked on the top of her dress and her new white and tan shoes on, making her a bit taller. Yoru floated up to Amu. "Yes, Yoru?" Amu asked, shyly. He sat on her shoulder and nuzzled her neck. "It's my favorite too~nya."

She blushed a little then. As did all of her charas. Miki looked kind of jealous. Ikuto just stared at his crazy little chara. _**Lucky,**_ he thought. **He**_** doesn't get hit on the head multiple times for doing that.**_

Amu laughed. "Thanks, Yoru!" "Ne, Ikuto, can I stay with Amu from now on~nya?" Ikuto and Amu both raised their eyebrows. "Eh?" they said at the same time. "Yeah!" Yoru said, looking up at Amu. "I wanna be your Shugo Chara now~nya!"

"Why?" Amu and Ikuto asked together. They looked at each other. "Okay, we have got to stop doing that." Amu said.

Yoru smiled at Ikuto. "Cuz Amu's pretty~nya!" Miki frowned, Amu blushed, and Ikuto just stared at the mini cat. "No." _**Not unless I get to stay too.**_

Yoru frowned. "Fine~nya." He got off of Amu's shoulder and then floated back to Ikuto.

"Well," Amu said. "I got Yoru's vote. What about everyone else?" Everyone went to praise her, even Miki who was super jealous by now, because face it, it looked gorgeous. And it was blue. So Miki had to. But Ikuto just continued to stare. Amu ignored him. "Okay, okay, I get it. You all think it looks great. But here's a new question-is it okay for me to wear this, you know… in _public?_" All the charas blinked twice before yelling "DUH!"

Ikuto got an idea then. "They're right, Amu. It's definitely okay for you to wear that out. So, lets go out." Amu looked at him with wide eyes. "Eh? Wait, did you just…"

"I just asked you out on a date."

Amu wobbled a little, unstable for a second. "Uhh... s-sure…" she said, a little dazed (a LOT embarrassed).

Ikuto smirked. "Good." He sensed that she was about to fall over, so he scooped her up bridal styled and jumped out the balcony with her, leaving the charas to float there, shocked.

_Okay, what just happened?_

* * *

**LizzyBird: *GASP* Whew! Finished!**

**Amu: About fricken time!**

**Ikuto: So… long… might… die…**

**LizzyBird: NO, IKUTO! DON'T DIE! I'LL SAVE YOU! MOUTH TO MOUTH!**

**Amu: NOO!**

**LizzyBird: *sighs* fine…**

**Ikuto: So, how many pages was this?**

**LizzyBird: Erm… 15.**

**Amu: Woo! New record!**

**Ikuto: We're all soo OOC today…**

**LizzyBird: 'Cept me, cuz I have billions of different characters, so anything I do is in character for me! =]**

**Amu: You lucky butt.**

**LizzyBird: Alright, I think these people have had enough to look at today, lets let them review. Nana!**

**Nana: Please review this story, ya'll!**

* * *

***-Oh, come on! I KNOW you all remember that episode! You know, Episode 35? It was at the wedding… hehe =D**

****-Tsukiyo no Marionetto, by Yuichi Nakamura, Ikuto's voice actor of course =D It's the one English line!**

*****-Okay, that's from like, the third episode, you better remember that!**

******-Yeah. You remember how X-Dia could read hearts? Well, so can Dia. That's how she knows that Ikuto loves Amu, even when the other charas don't. Well, besides Yoru. ****He knows cuz he lives with Ikuto. And they're like one. So he knows him inside out =].**


	5. Chapter 5

**LizzyBird: Hey minna! What's up, eh? Just got back from a six day vacation in CANADIA! Yeah, I don't know why, but I like saying Canadia instead of Canada. Eh, whatever.**

**Ikuto: Yeah, and every night she pretended I was there…**

**LizzyBird: SSH, THEY DON'T NEED TO KNOW THAT! Anyways, I spent most of my vacation working on this fic… which is pretty sad, since we went to the Ontario Science Center, where I SPIT FOR SCIENCE!, the Toronto Zoo, Casa Loma (which is the biggest castle I've ever seen), Paramount Canada's Wonderland, AND the Royal Ontario Museum. And my favorite parts were staying at the resort, swimming at the resort, and writing in the car or in my room. At the resort.**

**Amu: Vacations are for resting, not walking!**

**LizzyBird: EXACTLY! Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter, since I spent forever on it. Well, actually, only like three days, but…**

**Ikuto: Get on with it, blabbermouth.**

**LizzyBird: Okay! Uhm, I ran out of new people to use for my system, so I'm using a future OC-Kei!**

**Kei: Hai~desu?**

**LizzyBird: Even though you say the exact same thing as Suu does, will you please be my disclaimer person?**

**Kei: Of course! LizzyBird does not own Shugo Chara! or any of it's characters! But she does own me. Even though I don't quite exist yet…**

**Ikuto: Carry on!**

**Amu: Warning: This chapter contains many randoms, almosts, make-ups, and uselesses. Read at your own risk.**

* * *

_Recap_

"_Okay, okay, I get it. You all think it looks great. But here's a new question-is it okay for me to wear this, you know… in public?" All the charas blinked twice before yelling "DUH!"_

_Ikuto got an idea then. "They're right, Amu. It's definitely okay for you to wear that out. So, lets go out." Amu looked at him with wide eyes. "Eh? Wait, did you just…"_

"_I just asked you out on a date."_

_Amu wobbled a little, unstable for a second. "Uhh... s-sure…" she said, a little dazed (a LOT embarrassed)._

_Ikuto smirked. "Good." He sensed that she was about to fall over, so he scooped her up bridal styled and jumped out the balcony with her, leaving the charas to float there, shocked._

Okay, what just happened?

* * *

"Amu-chan!"

"Ikuto~nya!"

Yoru and Miki yelled together, zooming out of the balcony.

Ran, Suu, and Dia were about to follow, when-

BAM!

"Shugoi!"

Oh no.

* * *

Two blocks away from Amu's house, Ikuto set Amu down. "Hey, can you stand?" Amu nodded. "Ne, Ikuto, why'd you ask me out all of a sudden?"

"Why didn't you hit me or throw something at my head?"

They stared at each other for a while before Amu said, "So it's agreed. Neither of us answers."

"Yup, pretty much." Ikuto said.

"So… where are we going?" Amu asked.

Ikuto thought it over for a moment. He looked over at her smiling. "Anywhere with a lot of people, so I can show off my date." Amu's face exploded into a scarlet red, the blush slowly going down her neck. "Eto… I don't think I'm worth showing off or anything…" Ikuto shook his head. "You definitely are."

Amu watched him as they walked. _He's being so… sweet. Is that because I've been trying to act more mature?_

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "What? Marveling at my sexiness?"

Amu's face reddened. _I thought too soon._

He chuckled slightly at her expression. "Don't worry. It's okay. It's all yours."

Her face darkened even more "That's… no, that's not-" she took a breath to try and cool down her face. "… You're just acting really different, that's all."

"Yeah? Well, so are you."

Amu looked forward then. _So that's why. He doesn't like me, just how I'm acting._

…

… _Not that I care or anything!_

Ikuto had both hands in his pockets. Secretly in his left pocket, so Amu wouldn't notice, he was sending a text message to the owner of a very fancy, usually packed restaurant. Being the son of Aruto Tsukiyomi, a world famous violinist, and having once worked for Easter, one of the largest companies in the world, he had many connections. He'd also made very close friends with the owner, so he could get in anytime.

As soon as he'd finished sending the text, Amu stumbled in her new shoes. "Yahh!" she screamed, falling sideways away from Ikuto.

He gasped and leaned over her body to catch her. Amu's eyes were shut tight, anticipating a thud on the ground, when she felt a small jolt and noticed the presence of soft hands holding her up and warmth all around her body. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up. She automatically blushed.

Ikuto was standing above her, holding her up. He was breathing a little hard and his hair was falling over his face. Their bodies were about two inches apart. "You okay?" Ikuto asked, almost as breathless as Amu. She nodded. _I am now,_ she thought. "Just peachy. Thanks." she said. He chuckled. "Okay then."

He pulled her back upright next to him. It was then that he realized the real amount of height that the shoes gave her. _**At this rate, I could just kiss her without even having to bend down too far… Wait, what am I thinking!**_ He blushed a light pink and looked away. They continued to walk silently for a while.

* * *

Meanwhile, Yoru and Miki were flying in the direction that Ikuto had taken Amu.

"You sure that they went this way~nya?"

"Positive."

They suddenly stopped flying when they saw Ikuto holding up Amu. They both smiled at the sight. "You know," Yoru said, "They look pretty good together~nya." "Yeah," Miki said, "And they look like they're doing fine without us. Should we really bother them now?"

Yoru shook his head. "We wouldn't be bothering them~nya. Think of us as the parental supervision~nya!"

"Don't you mean Guardian supervision?" Miki asked, smiling. Yoru laughed. "Of course~nya!"

They saw that Amu and Ikuto had started walking again, so they quickly flew after them.

* * *

_At Amu's house, In Amu's room…_

"Yayy! Yayy! Shugoi Charas!" Ami yelled excitedly, clutching Ran in her left hand, Suu in her right. "Eh?" she said suddenly, spotting Dia floating nearby. "Owange? Pwetty Shugoi Chara!"*

Dia just floated there calmly, smiling. "Run for it!" Ran yelled. "Don't worry about us! Save yourself~desu!" Suu called out dramatically. Dia laughed lightly. "Hello, Ami. I'm Dia. It's nice to meet you." she said sweetly.

"Ooohhhh," Ami said with admiration in her eyes. She released Ran and Suu to clasp her hands together. "Your da neatest! Pwus you wook wike Utau-chan!"

Ran and Suu's eyes widened before looking at Dia. Now that they looked closer, she _does_ have the pigtails, the lighter hair, _and_ she's a singer. Plus, she _does_ get along well with Ikuto…

They looked at each other. _So Amu-chan wants to be like Utau? Hm…_ they thought together.

"Wet's pway!" Ami yelled, stretching her arms out. "I got shome teeny tiny outfits fow you guysh!" She whipped out a bunch of pink, red, green, yellow, and orange dresses.

"Oh, joy." Ran said, with little enthusiasm.

* * *

Amu and Ikuto were still silent when Miki and Yoru popped up next to them. "BOO!" they yelled together. "Aah!" Amu yelled, falling onto Ikuto. He held her arms steady. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked flatly. "Supervising of course~nya!" Yoru said excitedly.

"Yeah. Who knows what kind of perverted things you'd do to Amu? She needs a witness." Miki said. Amu blushed while Ikuto smirked. "Whatever." they said, looking away from each other. Miki and Yoru frowned as they watched the couple. They were at least two feet apart, heads turned away. Ikuto had both hands in his pockets. Amu had her right hand on her hip, her left hand swinging freely. They walked silently.

Yoru made a playful smirk while turning to Miki. "Oi, Miki," he whispered, "We should teach them how to act like a real couple~nya." Miki blushed. "Okay, like how?" she asked shyly.

They floated ahead of the couple, holding hands. Yoru's tail was wrapped around Miki's waist. Amu and Ikuto watched them curiously. Ikuto looked down to see Amu's left hand just dangling there. He slowly reached out his right hand, clenched his fist, and then finally…

Pointed up in the sky beyond Amu's head. "OMG LOOK A DRAGON!"**

"WHAT!" Amu yelled, whipping her head around to look. Ikuto used this chance to grasp her hand tightly.

"Just kidding." he said close to her ear. She turned to look at him and blushed at the proximity of their faces. She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Meanie." He smiled. "Yeah, maybe." She smiled back and laughed a little. _His smile's kind of… pretty._

Miki and Yoru glanced back and smiled. _Step one-completed!_ they thought. As they continued walking, the park came into view. "Wanna go?" Ikuto asked. Amu looked, then nodded. "Sure!" The charas turned to each other again. "Ready for step two~nya?" "Definitely!"

* * *

Dia twirled in her dress happily. "Thank you, Ami! I love it ." It was orange with frills, and a yellow sun and sparkles. There was also a white cloud. Of course, being Dia and all, she somehow got to change herself, while Ran and Suu got dressed for them by Ami.

Ran's dress was red with a white stripe on the bottom. A chain of pink hearts was in the stripe. Pretty simple, but cute.

Suu's dress was a dark green with a white stripe under her chest, and another on the bottom. The bottom half of the dress, in between the stripes, was adorned with a bunch of light green clovers, some glittered. The top had one big four-leafed clover.

"We love them!" "Desu!" Ran and Suu yelled.

"Waii! My wowk ish done hewe. Yosh!" Ami said, triumphant. She then proceeded to skip merrily out of Amu's room to go downstairs and tell her mom what she just accomplished, while Midori would just smile and pretend to believe her.

"Hey, Dia," Ran asked, "How come she didn't grab or dress you?" "Yeah~desu!" Suu added.

Dia smiled. "I'm an idol, remember? Fans admire from a distance."

Ran frowned. "That's not fair." Suu just gazed out the window. "I wonder when Amu and the others will get back… or just Amu and Miki, depending on how the date goes~desu." Ran and Dia turned to stare out the window too. _I hope the date goes well…_ Dia thought.

* * *

The two couples walked/floated into the park. It was surprisingly empty. Amu's eyes widened and she smiled hugely. "Swings! Yes! Come on, Ikuto, come push me!" She pulled him over, since they were still holding hands. She released her grip on his hand and plopped down into the swing seat, grinning up at him while bouncing excitedly. He chuckled and shook his head. "Such a kid…"*** he muttered playfully.

She chuckled, even though it was fake. _Kid… great. And I can't undo it now…_ She faced forward and swung her legs back and forth. "Well? Don't just stand there, push me! Lazy bum." He chuckled again. "Fine. How high?" "Really high." He smirked. "You're on."

He started pushing her lightly. "Come on, Ikuto, I know you can do better than that! Harder!" He pushed harder so that she was up to his height. "HARDER!" she screamed, ecstatic. _So fun!_ she thought. He gave her a great big push, as hard as he could. "AHH!"**** she yelled, after doing a 360° around the top bar of the swing set. "NOT THAT HARD!" She continued, terrified. He grabbed the swing to stop her. He had to hold onto her waist, since she almost flew off the seat.

Ikuto just laughed. "You said hard, you know." Then he looked at her face and frowned. Her face was red and her eyes were a little watery. "Amu?" he asked, worried.

She glared up at him. "You baka! I could've fallen off and died!" she yelled while jumping off the seat. She buried her face into his chest and hit him repeatedly with clenched fists, letting a few stray tears stain his shirt.

He wrapped his arms around her small frame. "Go ahead, hit me all you want. I probably deserve it." he said quietly into her hair. Which, of course, made her stop hitting him. She turned her head up to look up at him, only to have their noses touching.

Amu blushed, and even Ikuto gained a little pink, not that Amu noticed. She started slowly closing her eyes, thinking he was going to kiss her. By the time her eyes were half-lidded, Ikuto finally reacted. He leaned closer until their lips were dangerously close, and then…

"OMG LOOK A UNICORN!" he yelled, looking past the swing set.**

"WHAT, WHERE?" Amu yelled, turning her head., Ikuto kissed her left cheek and then ran away, laughing like a madman. Amu lifted her hand to touch her cheek. "Really? Again!" _Honestly, who's the kid on this date!_ she thought, blushing at the word date. She looked around for Ikuto and found him sitting in a tree on a thick branch. _Oh geez. Kitty ain't comin' down. _Ikuto chuckled at Amu's expression.

About two feet forward and one branch up from Ikuto's position, Miki and Yoru's faces were deadpanned. "Eto… what just happened?" Miki asked. "Beat's me~nya." Yoru responded. "Anyways, commencing step two~nya!" Miki blushed and nodded. She leaned her head on his shoulder, while he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He rested his head on top of hers, and they watched the clouds together, smiling. Yoru's tail swayed behind him lazily.

Ikuto watched them from his branch. _**Jealous…**_he thought. "Ikuto!" he heard Amu yell. He looked down to see her at the base of the tree. "Get down here, you crazy cat!" "No way," he said, "You come up here."

Amu frowned. _There's barely any footholds! How am I supposed to do that?_ she thought. She shook her head. "I can't!" she yelled.

Ikuto jumped down from his branch, scooped her up bridal style, and then leaped back up. He sat back down and then placed her down next to him. "Sure you can." he said, smirking. She blushed, then looked up to see Yoru and Miki's position. _Aww,_ she thought, _that's so cute!_ She glanced over at Ikuto to see him staring at the charas too. He was sitting with one knee propped up on the branch, the other dangling. One arm was resting on his knee, and the one closer to her was holding him up. She blinked. _Did his arm just slide closer to me? Nah, I'm probably just seeing things._

_Slide._

_Or not._ She blushed.

She slowly scooted closer to him until they were only an inch apart. Ikuto noticed. His heart beat faster every time she got a little closer. He was sure that she could hear it now. He started to lift the arm behind her so he could drape it around her shoulders, but he hesitated, and then put it back down. _**Man, I'm all out of stupid things to do,**_he thought._**Now it's just a little awkward… but I know I have to do it.**_

Amu was stiff. She'd try to lean her head over to his shoulder, but then her whole body would go with her, so she'd have to stop. _Alright Amu, just relax. If he does something stupid again, _then_ you can act like his mommy for the rest of the date -blush- but for now, act like Miki with Yoru._ She took in a breath to try and relax, and ended up relaxing a little too much. _I'm getting kind of tired…_she yawned a little and automatically leaned onto Ikuto's shoulder. _Mmm, soft… like a pillow…_

Ikuto looked down at Amu leaning on him. Of course, since yawns are contagious, he had to do it too. _**Hey, since she did her part, I guess I'll do mine too.**_ He lifted his arm and put it around her shoulder, then laid his head on top of hers. He noticed that her breathing was normal and her pulse was low and steady. _**That's weird, **_he thought. _**Normally she'd be going crazy right now. What's up?**_

"… I… I'm not…" Amu mumbled quietly under him.

Question mark?(+)

Ikuto leaned forward to look at her face. Her eyes were mostly lidded, and what part of them he could see were glazed. Almost like she was asleep. With her eyes open. _**Really? **_he thought, _**Sleeping?**_ Then he got a fun idea.

"What was that, Amu?"

Nothing.

"If you don't tell me, I'm gonna kiss you."

Nothing.

He smirked for a second before blushing a little. He leaned over, closer to her lips, and then…

"… I'm not… a muffin…"(x) Amu muttered.

Ikuto leaned back. "What?"

Amu's eyes snapped back from their mostly asleep state. "What?"

**. . .**

"Never mind…" Ikuto said, turning away. Amu noticed their position and blushed a little.

_**Beep, beep… BEEP!**_

"Huh?" Amu asked.

_**Ping-ping!**_(#)

Ikuto reached into his pocket with his free hand and took out his phone. He flipped it open to see a text from the restaurant manager. It said that their reservation was set. He flipped it shut. "Let's go, Amu."

She blinked twice. "Go? Go where?"

He smiled. "To part two of our date, of course."

She blushed. "Oh."

_**Well, **_they both thought. _**This should be interesting.**_

* * *

**LizzyBird: Schweet. I'm done!**

**Ikuto: Well. Not to be redundant or anything, but that was interesting.**

**Amu: Why was he so random?**

**LizzyBird: Well, I didn't want the situations to be TOO predictable.**

**Ikuto: But, once it's been done, EVERYTHING is predictable.**

**LizzyBird: … Shut up, sexy cat.**

**Amu: Say what?**

**LizzyBird: Annoying girl.**

**Amu: WHAT!**

**LizzyBird: AHAHAHAHA JUST KIDDING, I LOVE YOU AMU-CHII! **

**Ikuto: A little loud much?**

**LizzyBird: Hehe, Ikuto, I made a funny picture of you. Go on deviantArt. It's a demotivator that I currently have set as the background of my computer XD**

**Amu: *loads up page***

**Amu&Ikuto: *stare at picture together***

**Ikuto: AHH! YOU MAKE ME LOOK LIKE A CREEP!**

**Amu&LizzyBird: Well, look at what you said! You ARE a creep!**

**LizzyBird: But I find it to be quite sexy ;P**

**Amu: You're a creep too!**

**Kei: Uhm, this is going on a little too long~desu. May I do the honors~desu?**

**LizzyBird: Sure, go right ahead!**

**Kei: Kay! Please review~desu!**

**LizzyBird: I'm serious. Do it.**

**Kei: You'll meet me next chapter~desu!**

* * *

***-Erm, yes. I make her talk extremely baby-ish. Sorry! I needed to be consistent. Hehe =D**

****-So I don't offend anyone, it may be oh my goodness or oh my gosh. Take your pick. =]**

*****-Recognize the line? SHUGO CHARA! ENCORE Utau says it to Kukai a lot in their chapter and the last chapter =D FUN FACT!**

******-Err… Ikuto thinks that up until this part of the paragraph, it's really perverted. NOT INTENTIONAL!**

**(+)-Yeah, I actually use this phrase frequently XD.**

**(x)-Eto… I think I've actually had a dream where I ended up saying that… people were weirded out…**

**(#)-That's the noise my phone makes every minute that I don't check a new text, hehe! =D**


	6. Chapter 6

**LizzyBird: And now for the moment you've all been waiting for-!**

**Ikuto: The end of the date!**

**Amu: Finally. It's about time this ended.**

**Ikuto: Waiting for your end-of-the-date kiss? *smirks***

**Amu: *blushes like crazy* What! No!**

**LizzyBird: Hey, if she doesn't want it, I'll take it XD**

**Ikuto: Okay.**

**Amu: EWW! NO!**

**LizzyBird: Haha! This chapter probably could've gone better, but… oh well. It's what came out.**

**Kei: And I'm happy to do the disclaimer again~desu!**

**LizzyBird: Which is why I like you =]**

**Kei: Arigatou! LizzyBird does not own Shugo Chara! or it's characters~desu!**

**LizzyBird: I do, however, own Kei, Kai, Akane, and Ichigo (you'll meet them soon)**

**Amu: Enjoy!**

** .o0O0o.**

_Recap_

_Ikuto reached into his pocket with his free hand and took out his phone. He flipped it open to see a text from the restaurant manager. It said that their reservation was set. He flipped it shut. "Let's go, Amu."_

_She blinked twice. "Go? Go where?"_

_He smiled. "To part two of our date, of course."_

_She blushed. "Oh."_

**Well, **_they both thought. _**This should be interesting.**

** .o0O0o.**

Amu and Ikuto were walking to the restaurant. They automatically held hands, thanks to Yoru and Miki's influence. Amu couldn't help but to blush anyways. They were just around the corner from the place, so Ikuto covered her eyes. "It's a surprise." was all he gave as explanation. Considering she couldn't see, it was inevitable that she was to trip. A lot. _Stupid tall shoes,_ she thought. Even so, Ikuto was always there to catch her, which she was thankful for.

All of a sudden they stopped walking. "We're here." Ikuto said, uncovering her eyes. She looked up and then gripped his hand tight. "Oh. No. Way." It was the one restaurant in the entire town that she'd always wanted to go to, but never could. It was always packed, being a 7 starred restaurant*****. Plus, going alone was unheard of, and no one had ever asked her. "You didn't!" she squealed happily, and slightly out of character.

Ikuto chuckled at her reaction. "I did. Let's go." She looked to him with a look of total euphoria on her face. "Um!"

They walked in silently, Miki and Yoru following happily. The maître d' spotted them walking past the long line and lit up. "Ah, Master Ikuto! You've arrived! And with such a lovely date, I might add." At this, Amu blushed and looked down, dusting off her dress. "It's about time you brought a date instead of your male companions. I was getting worried." Ikuto coughed. "Ahem. Yeah. Thanks."******

The man got the hint. "Er, well then. Right this way, please." he guided them past the many waiting people. The line was mostly couples, and as they walked by, the girls squealed and jittered at Ikuto, much to the dismay of their dates and Amu. Ikuto, of course, ignored them, for everyone's sake. _**Happens every time,**_ Ikuto thought.*******

They were seated along the center wall, in a booth. They sat across from each other, Miki and Yoru sitting close to each other on the table. A thin boy, around sixteen, came to their table. He had orange hair, like Kukai's but lighter, and even lighter orange eyes. "Hello, my name's Kai, and I'll be your waiter for this evening." He eyed Amu. "If you guys have any, _any_ questions, be sure to ask." Ikuto's hand twitched. _**He's so into Amu,**_ he thought a little possessively.

"Your servers' name is Akane. She'll be ready with anything as soon as you ask her! Now, would you two like something to drink?" He asked, turning to Ikuto first. In his eyes, Ikuto could tell that this boy was jealous of him. He glanced at Amu really quick and saw her eyes widened at the back of Kai's head. His eyes froze. "I'll take a root beer, thanks. Oh, and my name's Ikuto Tsukiyomi, by the way." Kai's eyes widened. _**So he's heard of me,**_ Ikuto thought. "And this is my _date_, Amu." Amu blushed. Kai looked a little disappointed, yet still kept a straight face. He turned to Amu. "And for you, Amu-sama?"

Amu blushed again. _Amu-sama? Hehe._ "Uhm, a ginger ale for me, thank you. Oh, and by the way, this is Miki and Yoru." The two charas looked up and waved. "Hi!" "Nya!" they said. Ikuto's eyes bugged. _**What's she doing? He's gonna think she's crazy.**_ Kai laughed. "Why, hello Miki-san, Yoru-san." He reached down and scratched between Yoru's ears, causing him to purr. "I really like your hat, Miki-san." Kai said. Miki blushed at the compliment. "T-thank you!" she said happily. Ikuto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _**He can see them? Then that means…**_ he peeked behind Kai's head. Sure enough, there was a chara in a waiter's uniform floating behind his head. Ikuto relaxed. _**Oh… so **_**that's**_** what Amu was staring at before.**_********

The tiny chara flew out from behind Kai's head. He had blue hair and stunning green eyes. "This is my chara, Kei." Kai introduced. "It's very nice to meet you~desu." Kei said in a polite voice. Miki gasped. "You talk just like Suu does!" "Suu?" Kai asked. "Who's that?"

Amu smiled. "One of my other charas. I have four total." Kai's eyes stared at her in wonder. "Wow. That's amazing." Amu blushed. Ikuto frowned.

"Well, I'm off to put in your drink order. Kei here will take care of your charas' orders." Kai said, smiling (_**a little **_**too**) kindly at Amu. He walked back to the kitchen.

"So, do you have like, a tiny chara kitchen in here somewhere?" Miki asked, curious. Kei nodded, smiling. "It's located right above the main kitchen~desu. Maybe after your meal you two would like a tour~desu?" Yoru nodded. "That'd be great~nya!"

Kei pulled out a hidden chara-sized table for them, and then took their orders-Miki's root beer, Yoru's ginger ale-and floated off to the chara kitchen. As soon as he left, a girl came up to their table. She had bright blue hair, and eyes the color of Ikuto's hair. She had a fairly large chest for a fifteen year old girl, and she wasn't too bad to look at either. Her hair was held in two pigtails held by two white ribbons. In her left hand was a tray. Holding their drinks. "Hello!" she said perkily. "I'm Akane. As Kai probably told you, I'm your server for the night." She smiled at Ikuto. "If you need anything, just ask!" A small chara floated from the direction of the kitchen. She had long, flowing, strawberry red hair and dark pink eyes. With her free hand, Akane gestured toward the chara. "This is my chara, Ichigo." "Nice to meet you." Ichigo said, curtseying. Ichigo carried the tray of Miki and Yoru's drinks.

Amu glared at Akane, but it went unnoticed by the server. _She's smiling at Ikuto a _little_ too nicely…_ she shook it off. _Oh, what do I care anyways? It's just a date, it's not like I'm his girlfriend or anything. Besides… I don't care who he likes!_

…

_As long as it's me…_

…

_Oh, stop thinking already!_

Ikuto noticed Amu's mental fight by watching her facial expressions. _**It couldn't be… she's not jealous, right?**_ "Hello, Akane-san. I'm Ikuto. This is my _girlfriend_ Amu, and our charas Yoru and Miki." Both Amu and Akane's eyes widened at the word 'girlfriend'.

"A-ah. Well. Here are your drinks." She silently put the drinks in front of them, with an extra glass of water for each of them, as did Ichigo. "Enjoy." they said together, bowing and then walking back to the kitchen.

"Ne, Ikuto," Amu asked quietly. He looked at her. She was staring at the table. "Why'd you call me your girlfriend?" Ikuto looked away, towards the kitchen. "… You wouldn't understand." Amu blushed. Kai and Kei soon brought out menus for the couples. "Take your time, I'll be at another table, just call when you need me!" Kai said, smiling, before leaving to another table. Kei stayed, however.

"You don't have a table~nya?" Kei smiled at Yoru. "No, I have a break~desu." Miki looked shocked at this. "Really? But tonight looks so busy!" she exclaimed. Kei laughed. "I only need to work when-" **beep beep!** Kei's wristwatch flashed a red light. "Oops. When my light flashes. I'll be back when you're ready to order~desu!" he said, flying quickly away.

"Wow," Amu said, looking at her menu. "This place has a LOT." Ikuto nodded. "Yeah. The only problem some people have with this place is that nothing here is egg based. Not even mayonnaise, or cake. Most people are okay with it though, considering a lot of people who come here have Shugo Charas. That, and people with egg allergies have nothing to worry about." Amu nodded. "That would make sense." She continued to stare at her menu.

Out of nowhere, a balled up piece of paper rocketed at Ikuto's head. Once he was sure Amu hadn't noticed, he looked around to find the culprit. At a table on the opposite wall, he saw two of his friends from school. Both of the boys waved excitedly at him. Ikuto chuckled silently and waved back. One of them, the one with the brown hair, pointed at Amu and mouthed '_Dude, nice score!_' while the one with the onyx hair gave two thumbs up and winked.

Ikuto's eye twitched and he turned away from them. _**Maybe it wasn't such a good idea bringing her out with people… I forgot other teenage boys exist…**_he thought angrily.

Amu looked up to see Ikuto's face angry and twitching. "Ikuto? What's wrong?" He calmed down at the sound of her voice, and looked up to her. "Huh? Oh, nothing." She frowned a little. "Oh. Okay." _Weirdo_, she thought.

Soon after that, Kei came zooming over, his red light flashing. "Ah, so you two are ready to order~desu?" he asked Miki and Yoru. "Yup!" They chorused. Kai then came rushing back. "Are you two ready as well?" he asked, sneaking a couple of glances at Amu. Ikuto glared silently at the back of his head while Amu smiled up at him. "Sure! I'll have the prime rib with a salad." "I'll have what she's having." Miki told Kei. Kei smiled. "You look like the artistic type~desu. Would you like to come back to the kitchen and decorate your own salad~desu?" Miki lit up. "Sure!" Kei and Kai turned to Yoru and Ikuto then. "And for you?" "Desu?" they asked.

The following occurred simultaneously between Yoru and Ikuto: They stretched out their arms in front of them with their fingers interlocked, cracking their fingers, while also cracking their necks from side to side with their eyes closed. They gently placed their hands flat on the table. Then out of nowhere, their eyes snapped open while they whipped their heads to face their respective waiters. "I'll take a slow-cooked tarpon, make sure it's the left flank, lightly dipped in olive oil, two asparagus spears placed near where the head would be and a pinch of powdered rhubarb." "Nya."

Everyone's mouths dropped, except Kei's, who was busy finishing copying down the terribly long and specific order. "Would you like anything else with that, Yoru-san~desu?" he asked calmly. "Nope~nya" he said, grinning. "Eto, Kei?" Kai asked nervously. "Yup!" Kei responded.

_Pop!_

Kai chara changed with Kei, putting a wristwatch with a red light on his left wrist, just like Kei's. Kai furiously scribbled down Ikuto's order perfectly before _pop_ping back out.

"Um, Tsukiyomi-san, this is all possible, but I'm not sure if we'll know which is the left flank of the fish. Would you like to come back to the kitchen with me?" "Sure." Ikuto said, nodding. Kei turned to Yoru. "You have nothing to worry about, we separate our fish sides in the chara kitchen~desu." he said, smiling pleasantly. Yoru grinned widely. "Perfect~nya!" Kei turned to Miki then. "Miki-san, would you like to come back to decorate your salad now~desu?" "Yeah!" Miki said excitedly. **(+)**

Kei, Miki, Kai, and Ikuto left the table then, leaving Yoru and Amu. They stared at each other for a moment. "So, you have that order down, huh?" Amu asked. Yoru nodded. "It's our favorite dish~nya." Amu nodded. "I see." Yoru smiled. "You know Amu, you look really pretty~nya."

She blushed lightly before smiling. "Ah-thank you! You're so sweet." Yoru blushed a little while scratching the back of his head. "Well, I try~nya." Amu picked him up and kissed the side of his head. "It works!" she said, smiling. Yoru blushed. "I see why Miki loves you so much." Amu said, setting him down. He grinned. "Hehehe. Arigatou~nya. I can see why Ikuto loves you too~nya."

Amu stopped smiling for a second. "Wha…" _I see why Ikuto loves you… why Ikuto loves you…_

_**Ikuto loves you…**_

Her face erupted into a scarlet red, getting so hot you could almost see the steam. "WAHH!" she yelled, causing half of the restaurant to look at her. Ichigo floated by, stopping to stare at the two. "Is there a problem here?" she asked, her face stoic. Yoru turned to the chara. "Nope, Amu's just having a moment, nothing new~nya." "Ah." she said. She then floated away, bored. **(x)**

"What do you mean Ikuto loves me!" Amu asked, freaking out. "Yoru!" He turned to her. "Well, I'm pretty sure he does. Cuz I do~nya!" he said, grinning.

Amu froze. _No. No way. There's so way he loves me. This was just a silly date, right? It's not because he loves me. Not possible._

Kai returned then, but without Ikuto. "Amu-sama? Are you alright?" he asked, noticing her expression. She snapped out of it. "Oh- no, I'm fine, thanks." Kai laughed. "That's good." he said, sliding into Ikuto's seat across from her. "Hey, I have a short break. What's going on?" Amu blushed. "Oh, I don't know, exactly. It's been a weird day." she said. Kai grinned. "So, has the date been part of your weird day?" She blushed harder. "It's been _most_ of my weird day." Kai chuckled. "Care to tell me about it?"

** .o0O0o.**

In the kitchen, Ikuto was watching the chef cut his fish. "You know, Ikuto-san, I really should start sorting my fish sides. You come here so irregularly, I should just make it convenient for everyone." he was saying. Ikuto chuckled. "It's a learning process." Akane walked by to fill her tray for another customer. She spotted Ikuto and nearly tripped. _He's so handsome,_ she thought. _Too bad he's got a girlfriend… and a really pretty one at that…_ He glanced over at her. She blushed and her heart started racing. He walked up to her. "Oi, you've got a pretty big order there," he said, seeing her over stuffed trays. "Need any help?" She shook her head. "No thanks. It's my job, I'll take care of it." _His voice… It's like velvet…_

He nodded. "Alright then." He walked back to the chef. She frowned and left to go bring the food to her customers. _I want to find out more about him…_

** .o0O0o.**

Yoru stared up at Kai. _This boy's going to ruin our date~nya…_ he thought angrily. Kai suddenly got up. "Well, Amu-sama, I have to work for a little while, but I'll be back!" he said cheerfully. Amu blushed. "Eto… you can just call me Amu. The 'sama' thing feels like a little much." He smiled. "Then… Amu-chan?" he asked. She smiled and got a little pinker. "Yeah!" He nodded., still smiling, and walked away. Yoru looked up at Amu. She still had some pink on her face. _Ugh. This is like Tadase all over again~nya,_ he thought. Soon after, Akane was heading toward the kitchen with an empty tray, when she spotted Amu. Without Ikuto. _Perfect! I can ask her about him!_ She sat down across from Amu.

Amu blinked. "Oh. Hello, Akane-san." Akane smiled. "Just call me Akane. Hey, so I was wondering… are you really Ikuto's girlfriend?" Amu blushed. "Eto… why?" Akane laughed. "It's just a yes or no question, Amu-san."

Amu frowned. "Well, I… I don't really know. I mean, he didn't officially ask me to be or anything. And you can just call me Amu." Akane's eyes lit up. "Oh. I see. I was just asking because…" she blushed. "He's really cute. So, when you don't want him anymore, you know who to call!" she exclaimed, smiling. Amu was confused.

"Hey," Akane said, "Let's trade phone numbers!" Amu blinked before smiling. "Sure!"

Akane wrote hers down for Amu, and entered Amu's into her own phone. "Cool! I know we'll be good friends!" she said excitedly. She picked up her empty tray. "Well, I gotta get back to work. See ya!" she said cheerfully. "Okay." Amu said shyly. Akane left towards the kitchen. Yoru and Amu looked at each other then. "Well that was weird." "Nya." they said together. _She's draining,_ Amu thought.

Just then, Kai returned, taking the same spot he had before. "So, you're Akane's new friend, I see?" Amu chuckled "You saw that little exchange?" Kai smiled. "Yeah. She likes to make friends with all the cute customers." Amu blushed a little and they both laughed together.

** .o0O0o.**

Ikuto was finished talking to the chef, so he went back out to his table. When he got close enough, he realized Kai was sitting in _his_ seat. Laughing with _his_ Amu. He didn't miss her blush.

He walked as calmly as possible over and stood next to the table. He looked down at the unsuspecting waiter. "Hey," he said somewhat darkly. Amu and Kai both stopped laughing to look up at him. "Shouldn't it be a policy for employees not to fraternize with the customers? _Especially_ while on duty?" Kai's face paled. "Uhm, right. I'm sorry sir. I'll be on my way now. Later, Amu-chan." he got up and left without another word.

Ikuto slid into his seat. His face was calm, but in his head, it wasn't too pretty up there. _**Amu-chan? What the hell happened while I was gone?**_ Amu glared at him. "Geez, Ikuto! What was that about, huh? We were just talking, what got you so mad?" He just stared at her. Under the table, he wrapped his legs around Amu's, hooking his ankles. "Eh?" she said, surprised, lifting her arms slightly in shock. He leaned over the table and grabbed her wrists.

"You're _my_ date, Amu. Don't forget that." he said seriously.

Amu blushed under his intense gaze. _Since when is he so… possessive?_

Ikuto looked down at the table to see a tiny piece of paper. With a phone number on it. He released his holds on Amu and picked it up. "What's this?" he asked dryly, no emotion on his face. Amu looked down at it. "Akane's phone number. Why? Do you want it?" He relaxed. He didn't even realize he'd been tense. "Nah, it's alright," he said, putting it back down. "She's not really my type anyways."

Amu cocked her head to the side. "Oh? Then what _is_ your type?" she asked curiously. Ikuto smirked with his eyes half-lidded. He leaned closer to her face. "_You_." she said seductively.

"Eep."

Amu and Ikuto furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. _**That definitely wasn't **__me__**/Amu,**_ they thought together. They looked up to see a very red-faced Akane, holding their orders. During their little interaction, they hadn't even noticed Miki coming back with a smile, accomplished at her salad decoration, and Akane coming up, ready to give them their meals. Ichigo floated up shortly after, with a bored expression on her face. "Eto, ano… here's your order… sorry for interrupting!" Akane stammered out, quickly leaving after hurriedly placing down their plates. Ichigo just stayed clam. "Here you go." she said, putting the plates down in front of Miki and Yoru like nothing happened. "Enjoy." "Hey Ichigo-chan, are you-" "Excuse me, but I'm very busy." Ichigo interrupted Miki's attempt at making friends. She floated back to the kitchen.

Miki frowned. "What was that all about?" she asked to no one in particular. "She kind of acts like Rima," Amu commented. Miki nodded in agreement.

With nothing left to talk about, everyone started eating. Occasionally Ikuto and Amu would look up and have their eyes meet, causing Ikuto to smirk and Amu to blush furiously and look back at her food. Yoru and Miki frowned upon watching this. "This date's getting boring." Miki whispered to Yoru. He nodded. "Yeah… should we teach them some more~nya?" Miki smiled and fidgeted in her seat. "Kayy…" Yoru reached his paw across the table. Miki placed her hand in it and they gripped tight smiling into each others' eyes.

Their loving mood was so strong, they sparkled. Amu and Ikuto both turned their heads to watch them. When the charas were sure they were looking, Yoru stepped it up. "Ne, Miki, have I ever told you how pretty you are~nya?" Miki blushed like crazy and ducked her face a little. She shook her head no really fast. "Mn." was all she could muster. Yoru grinned. "Well, you're the prettiest girl I know. I could watch you forever and never get tired of the view~nya."

_Awwee!_ Amu thought. _He's just the sweetest!_ Miki turned a lobster red. _Really?_ she thought. "A-arigatou!" she said, smiling and embarrassed. Their sparkly love power got even stronger then. **( )**

_That's just the cutest thing ever!_ Amu thought. _I'm jealous…_ Ikuto watched Amu make shiny eyes at the lovebirds. By now he'd figured out what Yoru and Miki were doing-trying to get him and Amu to act more like a couple. Plus, there was the thing that Dia had told him…

** .o0O0o.**

_-Flashback-_

"_You know, Miki and Amu are a lot alike. If you treat her more like Yoru treats Miki, you could easily be like that." _

** .o0O0o.**

… so Ikuto was grateful for what Yoru was doing for him. _**But you know… if I copy him exactly, Amu will probably catch on too, even considering how dense she is,**_ he thought. So he settled for the first thing that popped into his head. He saw a random pad of the 'restaurant review' papers and ripped one off, flipping to the blank side. Amu was too busy watching the charas to notice, so he wrote something quickly but neatly on the back. He quietly slid it over to Amu.

She felt the paper bump into her arm, so she looked down. She saw Ikuto pulling his arm back while watching the charas. She looked back down at the paper. It said five simple words.

'_**I think you look beautiful.'**_

She blushed a light pink. Underneath that, she wrote her own little note before sliding it back.

Ikuto watched as she scribbled and slid the note back. He looked down at it without even touching it.

'_You look beautiful too :P' _he chuckled. _'Just kidding. Do you really think so?'_

Reading the question, he felt like yelling "DUH" right into her face. He looked up at her and smirked. She was looking away, blushing so hard it could be considered a health hazard. He wrote back quickly.

'_**Wait, so now I'm not beautiful? That's harsh, Amu-koi. And of course. It doesn't matter that your dress isn't white, you could get married right now, you look that good.'**_

She glanced down as he slid the paper back, afraid of the response. As she read it though, all of her fears were dissolved and were replaced with a smile. She looked up to his face, the happiness clearly showing.

Ikuto blinked twice. _**She's not even trying to hide her happiness…**_ he smiled back. _**That's good, as long as she only shows me this kind of face,**_ he said, blushing so light it was unnoticeable.

Amu then decided to go out of her usual character and tease Ikuto like she had at her house. She wrote something down and slid it back, slightly smirking. He looked down.

'_Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intention of marrying you, __especially__ on our first date. XP'_

He chuckled. _**Time to play a trick on her,**_ he thought deviously. He wrote quickly and slid it back again.

She peeked down at it before gasping.

'_**Aww, really? Guess I'll have to text the priest and cancel then, huh?'**_

She looked up at him, hoping he was kidding.

On the outside, Ikuto sighed, sounding disappointed. Inside? He was giggling like a little girl. He took out his phone, once he felt her looking at him, and slid it open, pressing random buttons for added effect. After a few seconds, he closed his phone and looked at her. Her face had completely paled. "Ikuto, you didn't…" she said quietly. He chuckled at her expression. "Just kidding." he said, winking. "Why, you disappointed?" he asked with a smirk.

Her color came back quickly. "No way, creep!" she said, irritated. She watched him take the paper back. "You forgot a word, by the way." he said, moving it back in front of her. "Eh?" she asked, looking at her line. Her face flushed. It now said,

'_Sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intention of marrying you __**yet**__, __especially__ on our first date. XP'_

"Yet?" she asked. He nodded. "I have every intention to marry you at some point." She looked up, expecting to see a mischievous smirk, but was met with a surprise. He was _smiling_, no teasing evident on his face. Amu's face was almost permanently red by now.

Soon after, Kai walked by. Noticing their empty plates, he turned to them. "Would you guys like any dessert?" he asked, in hopes that Amu would stay longer. Ikuto shook his head. "I'm good." he said. "Amu?" She shook her head quickly. "Me too!" Kai's expression fell a little, before snapping right back. "Alright, I'll get the check then?" Ikuto nodded. Kai left, Akane returning to collect their plates. Silently, of course. Kai asked Miki and Yoru if they wanted any dessert, and they'd just shook their heads without breaking eye contact. Ichigo took their plates, ignoring the lovey-dovey atmosphere.

Ikuto reached under the table to grab one of Amu's hands. Amu looked down and blushed. Kai dropped off their check, and Ikuto reached for it automatically. Amu almost protested, but then remembered that Ikuto had kidnapped her without letting her get her phone or any money, so she just sat there, feeling guilty for making him pay.

After signing the check, the couples left together. When Ikuto wasn't looking, Amu grabbed the note that they had been writing back and forth on. They got outside to see the late sunset. They quickly made their way back to Amu's house, Ikuto chara changed with Yoru and carried Amu as he jumped up to her balcony. He gently set her down. "Hey, Amu?" he asked.

"What is it?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Amu blushed.

"No way!" she yelled. He chuckled.

They both turned to look at the sky then. Even though the sun was mostly gone, the sight was still breathtaking. Amu looked up higher to see the moon mixed with a few stars and smiled. "You know? That's my favorite part, right there." she said. Ikuto looked down at her, confused. "What? What is?" he asked, noticing where she was looking. "When the moon and the sun are in the sky at the same time." she stated simply. "Ah." he responded. He looked lower, to her lips, as they glistened in the twilight. _**My goal,**_ he thought, before shaking his head. _**Nah, I couldn't do that to her.**_

Yoru and Miki were preparing a finale, hoping to encourage the two. And yet… it was more than that.

"Ne, Miki… I had a lot of fun today~nya." Yoru said with a small smile, tail swaying, paws behind his back. Miki smiled back, a little pink. "Me too, Yoru." Then, slowly, they both leaned in for a kiss. It wasn't exactly short, but it wasn't longer than three seconds. Amu had seen it and blushed. She turned to Ikuto, who was staring at the sky. He had seen the kiss though. _**Forget it, Yoru,**_ he was thinking. _**I can't kiss her.**_ The sun completely set then, leaving the moon to shine down brightly, making Amu's lips glisten even more. _**No. Sorry, Moon, it can't happen.**_

He turned to Amu. Her eyes looked tired. "Amu?" he asked her. She faced him. "Yes?" she asked, trying to hide any hint of nervousness, and for once, succeeding. He leaned down and kissed her… on the forehead.

She blinked, staring into his eyes. "You look tired, Amu. You should get some sleep." he said, turning away from her gaze. She looked down. "Oh. Alright." "I'll see you." he said. She nodded. "Yeah." she walked inside then, not bothering to close her balcony door.

Miki and Yoru were both floating there, blushing, when Ikuto called for Yoru to leave. They both frowned slightly. Yoru kissed Miki one last time before reassuring her that he'd see her tomorrow. He chara changed with Ikuto once again, and Ikuto proceeded to leap away into the night. Miki floated, dazed, into Amu's room through the open door, a cool breeze following her. She looked over to Amu's bed, where Ran, Suu, and Dia were showing off and chatting excitedly to Amu about their new outfits, while Amu was smiling, nodding, and giving out the occasional compliment. Then came the big question.

"So, Amu-chan, how was your date with Ikuto?" Ran chirped. "Was it romantic~desu?" Suu asked. "Well, Knowing Ikuto-kun, it couldn't have been _too_ romantic." Dia said, giggling.

Suddenly, Amu's eyes got a little sad. "It was… nice. I had a fun time." "Woo!" Ran yelled, satisfied. She then floated back to her egg, ready to sleep. Miki, Suu, and Dia frowned though. "Really? Are you sure~desu?" Suu asked. Amu nodded. "Of course!" Suu smiled and retreated to her own egg. Dia floated closer to Amu's face. "Ne, Amu-chan, Ikuto-kun didn't do anything stupid, did he?" she asked worriedly. Amu forced out a laugh. "No way, nothing like that!" Dia faked a smile. "Okay, well… goodnight, Amu-chan." she said, floating to her egg, only looking back once. Once the three charas had shut their eggs, Miki floated up to Amu.

"Ne, Amu-chan… what's really wrong?" Miki asked. Amu frowned. "Nothing, I'm just confused, is all." "About what?" Amu thought this question over.

_Why am I even upset? The date went well, as far as dates go, I guess. Was it because he didn't kiss me?_ She hugged her knees to her chest. _No, I couldn't be upset about that, I didn't want one anyways!_

… _Right?_

"I don't know," Amu said. Miki frowned. Then a thought popped up. "Is it because he didn't kiss you when Yoru kissed me?" she asked, somewhat shyly. Amu's face flushed. "I… no-I don't know!" she said, slightly embarrassed. Miki floated over to her egg, lifted it from the basket, and brought it back to the table by the head of Amu's bed. "I'll sleep near you tonight. If you figure it out, you can wake me up, I'll be right here." she said with a small smile. Amu smiled back, grateful, before hugging the small chara. "Thanks Miki, you're the best!" And with that, the two went to sleep. After Amu turned off the light, of course.

** .o0O0o.**

About four hours later, Ikuto walked back into Amu's room through the still open balcony door. _**Seriously, does she want somebody to come in and kidnap her, or what?**_ he thought. He heard a small sneeze come from Amu's bed. _**She's gonna get sick…**_ he walked over to Amu's sleeping figure and knelt down beside it.

She was facing him, mumbling incoherently. Ikuto just watched her peaceful face, smiling at her nonsense

In Amu's dream, she'd just finished a date with Ikuto. "Ikuto… I had… fun…" he heard her mutter. Ikuto blinked. _**Is she dreaming about our date? Then… maybe I should finish it better this time,**_ he thought.

He leaned down and, gently, so as not to wake her, place a sweet and loving kiss on her lips.

Amu gasped. Her dream kiss had felt so real! Ikuto, hearing the gap and thinking that he'd woken her up, ducked down next to the bed. That didn't stop Miki from seeing him though.

Miki was peeking out from the crack in her egg, watching the scene before her. She had seen the kiss, and was smiling. _See, Ikuto,_ she thought. That's _how you end a date._ Yoru floated up to her egg and she blushed. "Goodnight, Miki~nya." he whispered to the crack, before floating back to Ikuto.

When Ikuto didn't hear any more signs of Amu possibly being awake, he slowly stood up. He and Yoru did a quick chara change to leave. As soon as he stepped out, he looked back at the lump on Amu's bed, knowing the girl he loved slept peacefully there. "Goodnight, my little Amu." he whispered before shutting the door behind him.

_Poor Amu,_ Miki thought. _She got her happy ending and she doesn't even know it!_

** .o0O0o.**

**LizzyBird: Ooh! Yay! Complete!**

**Amu: What took you so long?**

**Ikuto: Well, the date wasn't over yet, and I wanted to wait until the end for the romantic kiss.**

**Amu: *blushes* Not you, LizzyBird! Ew!**

**LizzyBird: Okay, Well the thing is… I was looking for an episode to find the descriptions of Ikuto's friends. And it kind of took… forever. And I only found it thanks to RomanticaKH1 (Who has awesome stories, by the way… go check them out!)**

**Ikuto: Even though it was such an insignificant little piece of detail…**

**LizzyBird: Hey! IT WAS SIGNIFICANT TO ME!**

**Amu: *sighs* This is getting ridiculous… can we just tell people to review and then get to the half-page long note section like always?**

**LizzyBird: I guess… Next chapter, I'm going to be thanking all of my reviews thus far, so if you would like to be famous for a chapter, be sure to review!**

**Ikuto: I'm sexy!**

**LizzyBird: Yes, yes you are. That's why my phone's background is you standing in the rain3**

** .o0O0o.**

***-It does exist! Just watch Pokemon! May takes Ash, Brock, and Dawn there! So I laugh at the non-believers! HA!**

****-Haha, the man thought Ikuto was gay! Well, Ikuto doesn't like getting all the attention that usually comes from going on dates, since every girl in the world thinks he's fricken sexy. But Amu's different, which is why he likes getting her attention and decides to take her there. It's usually him and the two friends that I mention that don't have names.**

*****-The guys would've looked at Amu too, if they weren't so upset about their dates being all excited about seeing Ikuto. I'm sure one or two of them did. I'm also pretty sure there was a gay couple in the line, one of them fell in love with Ikuto while the other went straight and fell in love with Amu. But that's just my theory. Hehe =D (No offense to gays, I love you all!)**

******-Not **_**all**_** of the waiters, waitresses and servers have charas, so he was freaking out a little. He's been here a lot, but it's not like Ikuto's met every employee there. But he is a popular customer, so everyone there's heard of him.**

**(+)-Miki and Kei aren't potential love interests. No. Not happening. She's got enough boy issues, haha =D Nah, she's only for Yoru3**

**(x)-Yoru and Ichigo would have a thing… if Miki and Dia never existed, and he was bored. But other than that, there's nothing between them =] **

**( )-I just couldn't resist! So cute3**

**(Random note that's not in a specific place in the chapter)-If I were an Anime character, I would probably be a lot like Akane. A little tweaks, and we'd be identical. So there, now you know what I'm like! Haha. Anyways, the end of this chapter will also be kind of the beginning of the next one, so sorry if it seems a little repetitive. It'll just be from Amu's side instead of Ikuto's, and a little different.**


End file.
